balloon sail

American

noun

Nautical.

any light, loose sail, as a jib or spinnaker, used by a yacht in light wind.

balloon sail British

noun

nautical a large light bellying sail used in light winds Compare spinnaker

"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

Etymology

Origin of balloon sail

First recorded in 1895–1900

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.

Back at base, we snacked on wild mangoes with chilli sauce, strips of deep-fried buffalo skin and sun-dried pork while watching a hot-air balloon sail over the peaks as the sun set.

From The Guardian

Baby jib top-sails had been sent down before the rounding, and spinnaker poles were now ready for the balloon sail.

From Project Gutenberg

As the balloon sails on, borne forward by the wind, its shadow travels either on the ground or on the clouds.

From Project Gutenberg

"Only to have a race you have to let your balloon sail off, without any string fast to it, and you will not get it back again."

From Project Gutenberg

He accepts a pipe, and his greater height raises it into a favourable current of air—the glistening balloon sails off.

From Project Gutenberg

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