Noun
Wind filled the sails and our journey had begun.
raising and lowering the ship's sails
a sail to San Francisco Verb
We'll sail along the coast.
He sailed around the world on a luxury liner.
She sailed the Atlantic coastline.
She's sailing a boat in tomorrow's race.
The ship was sailed by a crew of 8.
I've been sailing since I was a child.
a ship that has sailed the seven seas
We sat on the shore watching boats sail by.
We sail at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
They sail for San Francisco next week.
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Noun
An explosive start gave way to an injury that sucked the wind out of the Grizzlies’ sails, allowing the Thunder to pull off a historic comeback.—Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025 Swim, sail, and kayak at lakes like Crescent Lake and Ozette Lake, and follow the Olympic Peninsula Waterfall Trail to see cascades like the Sol Duc Waterfalls or the remote Valley of 10,000 Waterfalls.—Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
When sailing into the port city of Belfast, a visit to a museum chronicling the greatest-ever shipping disaster may not be top of every cruise traveler’s sightseeing list.—David Nikel, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025 In November 1917, the vessel was sailing near Dodman Point when it was torpedoed by a German submarine.—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for sail
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English segl; akin to Old High German segal sail
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
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