/ seɪl; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
( of a boat or ship or the people on it ) to travel on water using sails or an engine :
[ v , usually + adv. / prep. ]
to sail into harbour
The dinghy sailed smoothly across the lake.
The ferry sails from Newhaven to Dieppe.
one of the first people to sail around the world
[ vn ]
to sail the Atlantic
2.
(also go sailing ) to control or travel on a boat with a sail, especially as a sport :
[ v ]
We spent the weekend sailing off the south coast.
Do you go sailing often?
[ vn ]
She sails her own yacht.
3.
[ v ] ( of a boat or ship or the people in it ) to begin a journey on water :
We sail at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
He sailed for the West Indies from Portsmouth.
4.
[ v + adv. / prep. ] to move quickly and smoothly in a particular direction; (of people) to move in a confident manner :
clouds sailing across the sky
The ball sailed over the goalie's head.
She sailed past me, ignoring me completely.
•
IDIOMS
- sail close to the wind
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- sail through (sth)
■ noun
1.
[ C , U ] a sheet of strong cloth which the wind blows against to make a boat or ship travel through the water :
As the boat moved down the river the wind began to fill the sails.
a ship under sail (= using sails)
in the days of sail (= when ships all used sails)
She moved away like a ship in full sail (= with all its sails spread out) .
2.
[ sing. ] a trip in a boat or ship :
We went for a sail.
a two-hour sail across the bay
3.
[ C ] a set of boards attached to the arm of a windmill
—picture at windmill
•
IDIOMS
- set sail (from / for ... )
—more at trim verb , wind (I) noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English segel (noun), seglian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeil and German Segel (nouns).