mast
1Nautical.
any of a number of individual spars composing such a structure, as a topmast supported on trestletrees at the head of a lower mast.
any of various portions of a single spar that are beside particular sails, as a top-gallant mast and royal mast formed as a single spar.
Also called pillar. the upright support of a jib crane.
any upright pole, as a support for an aerial, a post in certain cranes, etc.
to provide with a mast or masts.
Idioms about mast
before the mast, Nautical. as an unlicensed sailor: He served several years before the mast.
Origin of mast
1Other words from mast
- mast·less, adjective
- mast·like, adjective
- un·der·mast·ed, adjective
Other definitions for mast (2 of 3)
the fruit of the oak and beech or other forest trees, used as food for hogs and other animals.
Origin of mast
2Other definitions for mast- (3 of 3)
variant of masto- before a vowel: mastectomy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use mast in a sentence
From her windows could be seen the crescent of the river, the masts of ships and the big chimneys of the Mississippi steamers.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinThe houses rise in terraces up the sharp hillside fronting the harbor, which was literally a forest of fishing-boat masts.
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car | Thomas D. MurphyHe was finally captured, and led to a ponderous stall that had been prepared for him between the fore and main masts.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands | R.M. BallantyneThe sayling firr; this 'alludes to the ship's masts and spars being made of fir.'
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerThe canvas was torn from the yards, and spar after spar fell, until nothing but the masts remained.
The Whale and the Grasshopper | Seumas O'Brien
British Dictionary definitions for mast (1 of 3)
/ (mɑːst) /
nautical any vertical spar for supporting sails, rigging, flags, etc, above the deck of a vessel or any components of such a composite spar
any sturdy upright pole used as a support
Also called: captain's mast nautical a hearing conducted by the captain of a vessel into minor offences of the crew
before the mast nautical as an apprentice seaman
(tr) nautical to equip with a mast or masts
Origin of mast
1Derived forms of mast
- mastless, adjective
- mastlike, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for mast (2 of 3)
/ (mɑːst) /
the fruit of forest trees, such as beech, oak, etc, used as food for pigs
Origin of mast
2British Dictionary definitions for mast- (3 of 3)
a variant of masto-
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with mast
see at half-mast.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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