close-hauled

American

[klohs-hawld] / ˈkloʊsˈhɔld /

adjective

Nautical.

as close to the wind as a vessel will sail, with sails as flat as possible; full and by.

close-hauled British

/ ˌkləʊsˈhɔːld /

adjective

nautical with the sails flat, so as to sail as close to the wind as possible

"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 close-hauled

First recorded in 1760–70

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.

Skipper Moore close-hauled Argyll for the long reach to Bermuda, with a stiff breeze carrying them along.

From Time Magazine Archive

Walters did what any sailor might do�he close-hauled to port.

From Time Magazine Archive

The wind shifted and suddenly we were close-hauled on a course to the northwest that pointed us approximately toward the Aleutian Islands.

From Time Magazine Archive

The small boats got off in fine weather, close-hauled in a fresh breeze.

From Time Magazine Archive

On the third day of our homeward voyage we were sailing close-hauled on the larboard tack, with the island of Barbuda just visible away to windward.

From The Quest of the 'Golden Hope' A Seventeenth Century Story of Adventure by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

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