America's Cup

American  

noun

1. an international yachting trophy, originally offered as the Hundred Guinea Cup in 1851, but renamed for the yacht America, winner of it that year.

2. the yacht race itself, the oldest and most prestigious event in international sailing, now restricted to 12-meter yachts.

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America's Cup British  

noun

1. an international yachting trophy, first won by the schooner America in 1851 and held as a challenge trophy by the New York Yacht Club until 1983

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Example Sentences

Look at him in the photograph here, circa 1977, the year he won the America’s Cup helming the 12-meter sloop, Courageous.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

In other sports endeavors, Turner successfully skippered the US yacht Courageous to win the 1977 America's Cup.

From Barron's • May 6, 2026

He poured money into sailing, sponsoring an America’s Cup team and pushing for the competition to become more of a high-tech, extreme sport.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 2025

Along the way, he wrote crime novels focused on the Orange County yachting set, upper-crust dog show fans, Palm Springs country clubs, the America’s Cup, and the Nobel Prize.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2025

He built the yacht Independence at a cost of $200,000, and when it was shut out from the America's Cup race smilingly threw it on the scrap heap.

From Frenzied Finance Vol. 1: The Crime of Amalgamated by Lawson, Thomas William