set sail

Idioms

Also, make sail. Begin a voyage on water, as in Dad rented a yacht, and we're about to set sail for the Caribbean, or We'll make sail for the nearest port. These expressions, dating from the early 1500s, originally meant “put the sails in position to catch the wind,” and hence cause the vessel to move.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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set sail

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the "first tanker set sail for its intended recipients, its buyers".

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

"Our main concern is his arrival won't be safe," she told AFP from Malaysia, requesting anonymity for security reasons after losing contact with her brother before the vessels set sail.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

The Lincoln, normally based in San Diego, set sail in November for a routine deployment to the Pacific.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

It set sail from the German island of Rügen, headed for the middle of the Baltic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

They have loaded up all of our food, and as soon as a breeze lifts, they will set sail for England.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023