- [countable, uncountable] 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.
- under sail 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).
- The vessel can be propelled by oars or sail (= sails).
Homophones sail | salesail sale/seɪl//seɪl/- sail verb
- Thor managed to sail his raft across the Pacific Ocean.
- sail noun
- Far out I could see a yacht with a white sail.
- sale noun
- She will receive the profits from the sale of her property.
Extra ExamplesTopics Transport by waterb1, Sports: water sportsb1- The bay was full of boats with billowing sails.
- The boat is preserved as a monument to the days of sail.
- The sails caught the wind once more and they were on their way.
- The white canvas sail hung limply against the mast.
- The ship came in under sail and anchored near us.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- main
- canvas
- hoist
- raise
- rig
- …
- billow
- flap
- flutter
- …
- boat
- the days of sail
- in full sail
- under full sail
- …
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- [singular] a trip in a boat or ship
- We went for a sail.
- a two-hour sail across the bay
- He took us for a sail up the river.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- main
- canvas
- hoist
- raise
- rig
- …
- billow
- flap
- flutter
- …
- boat
- the days of sail
- in full sail
- under full sail
- …
- [countable] a set of boards attached to the arm of a windmill
Word OriginOld English segel (noun), seglian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeil and German Segel (nouns).
Idioms
See sail in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee sail in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishset sail (from/for…)
- (formal) to begin a trip by sea
- a liner setting sail from New York
- We set sail (for France) at high tide.
take the wind out of somebody’s sails
- (informal) to make somebody suddenly less confident or angry, especially when you do or say something that they do not expect
- When I agreed to his suggestion at once, it really took the wind out of his sails.
trim your sails
- to arrange the sails of a boat to suit the wind so that the boat moves fasterTopics Transport by waterc2
- to reduce your costs
Check pronunciation:
sail