I. ˈyät, usu -äd.+V noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: earlier yaught, from obsolete Dutch jaght (now jacht ), from Middle Low German jacht, short for jachtschiff, jageschiff light sailing vessel, fast pirate ship, literally, hunting ship, from jacht-, jage hunt (from jagen to hunt, from Old High German jagōn ) + schiff ship, from Old High German skif; akin to Old Frisian jagia to hunt and perhaps to Sanskrit yahu restless, swift, strong — more at ship
1. : a sailing or power boat used for pleasure (as racing or cruising) and characteristically built for speed with a sharp prow and graceful lines: as
a. : any of various large racing and cruising sailboats (as of the international class)
b. : a steam-driven or motor-driven ship or large powerboat equipped often elegantly for pleasure cruising or private travel (as by a head of state)
2. : a dice game played in numerous forms and under various names with 5 or 10 dice in which the object is to make certain combinations in a prescribed number of casts
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to race or cruise in a yacht
the Spanish pretender now yachts, plays golf — Current Biography