sailboat
Americannoun
-
sailboats
plural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sailboat
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How does sailboat compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A sailboat is a relatively small boat that uses wind power to propel it forward. When the wind is strong enough, sailboats can move very quickly. Ahoy! Sailboats, called sailing boats in Britain, can have anywhere from one to as many as five sails. Larger water vessels that move using sails are distinguished as "sailing ships" rather than sailboats. You might take a tour on a schooner, a large sailboat with two masts, or take a sailing lesson in a small, single-sail dingy. No matter which kind of sailboat, it moves by angling its sails into the wind.
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.
See Examples For:
Held at the 1971 crab derby in Crisfield, Md., it drew less attention than sailboat races, greased pig contests and the crowning of Miss Crustacean.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Around 1607, settlers in the nearby Popham Colony constructed a wooden sailboat, dubbed Virginia—the first oceangoing boat built by English settlers in North America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
A 30-foot sailboat stolen in mid-March from a local scouting nonprofit was recovered Monday by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026
Maybe you have looked at the clouds and imagined a sailboat, a seahorse, or even your great-aunt Rosemary staring back at you.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
It was a sailboat, a big one, with two masts, but it was sailing away from us.
From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin
"Mexican authorities have activated their search and rescue protocol for two sailboats en route to Havana as part of the Convoy, which have not yet arrived," a spokesperson for the convoy told AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026
A search and rescue operation is under way in the Caribbean for two missing sailboats filled with humanitarian supplies travelling from Mexico to Cuba.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
MFA’s example from that summer, “Three Boys on a Beached Dory,” is a charming grisaille work depicting the children, wearing broad-brimmed hats, looking at sailboats on the horizon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025
Lost Bay is a one day, single race regatta for mono-hull sailboats of at least twenty feet with both spinnaker and non-spinnaker divisions.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2024
Those are months of bruises and wretchedness: rooms pitching like sailboats, half-open doors striking Marie-Laure’s face.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
