ketch

[kech]

noun

Nautical.

1. a sailing vessel rigged fore and aft on two masts, the larger, forward one being the mainmast and the after one, stepped forward of the rudderpost, being the mizzen or jigger.

ketch

/ kɛtʃ /

noun

1. a two-masted sailing vessel, fore-and-aft rigged, with a tall mainmast and a mizzen stepped forward of the rudderpost Compare yawl 1

Word History and Origins

Origin of ketch¹

1475–85; earlier cache, apparently noun use of cache to catch

Word History and Origins

Origin of ketch¹

C15 cache, probably from cacchen to hunt; see _catch

Example Sentences

A recent addition comes from Sam Keck Scott, who in the summer of 2010 helped to sail a restored Dutch ketch from Malta to Singapore, crossing the Arabian Sea.

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It was taken by crew members on a ketch that sailed near the island of Java in the summer of 2019.

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From horizon to horizon, from stern to bow, the sea all around them was glowing as their 52-foot-long ketch passed south of the Indonesian island of Java on a moonless night.

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He poked fun at the incident in a ketch when he eventually appeared on the show.

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“Hit shore is a wonder how young folks ketch on. Miss Love, now, she thinks she could drive a car.”

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Related Words

• barge 
• canoe 
• catamaran 
• craft 
• dinghy 
• gondola 
• raft 
• sailboat 
• schooner 
• ship 
• yacht