the act of furling.
something furled, as a roll.
furl in the bunt, to furl (a square sail) by gathering canvas upward, so as to load the yard equally at all points.
furl in a body, to furl (a square sail) with loose canvas gathered at the mast, so as to make a harbor furl.
to roll up (an umbrella, a flag, etc) neatly and securely or (of an umbrella, flag, etc) to be rolled up in this way
(tr) nautical to gather in (a square sail)
the act or an instance of furling
a single rolled-up section
1550–60; compare Middle French ferler in same sense, perhaps representing Old French ferlier to chain, fasten, equivalent to fer firm (< Latin firmus ) + lier to bind (< Latin ligāre )
To furl is to roll something up, the way you furl your sleeping bag before sliding it into your backpack on a camping trip. Furl comes from roots meaning "to hold firmly" and "to bind." It's frequently used when sailors take down sails and roll them securely: "Furl the main sail! There's a storm brewing!" You can also use it for a leaf or flower that's curled up, as opposed to unfurled: "Those blossoms furl at night and open in the daytime." Or, if you want to show off your vocabulary, you might say: "Let me just furl these burritos and then we can eat."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Told in rhyming verse, Carroll’s trademark use of deep reds and blue give the proceedings an eerie whimsy, and her layouts — always brilliant — furl and explode across the page.
From The Verge ● Dec. 13, 2018
Smith: I go out on the yard to furl the sail and all that stuff.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2017
Of course, don’t furl the flag or shut down those offshore accounts or start writing the complete history of American decline quite yet.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 29, 2016
Behind him, shaven-headed demonstrators furl the English flag, the Cross of St. George.
From Time ● Jul. 29, 2011
The crew were on their feet briskly, to furl the sail, and stow it; then, each in place, they poised the smooth oar blades and sent the white foam scudding by.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Her Bengali furls backward toward its village origins.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 28, 2016
As furls of smoke spread out on a screen above him, a voice intoned "This is the night of the demon" over thunderous bass.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 27, 2010
But swift as sailor, by his trembling mast Warned of Circeian tempest, furls his sails, So swift Torquatus saw, and prompt to wage The war more closely, he withdrew his men Within a narrower wall.
From Pharsalia; Dramatic Episodes of the Civil Wars by Lucan
Every life has been a battle That has won a noble guerdon— Every soul that furls its pinions In proud Fame's serene dominions, Wearily has borne its burden.
From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 5, May, 1862 Devoted To Literature And National Policy by Various
The meadow lark on the fence post behind my house is unusually voluble this uncertain morning; maybe he is getting his day's singing off before the sun shall hide, discomfited, behind the unrolling cloud furls.
From Insect Stories by Kellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman)
They packed up their chairs and furled banners, as the makeshift tent city slowly transformed back into a standard campus plaza.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2024
The baby’s tail or “fluke,” critical to swimming, was still furled from being compacted in utero.
From National Geographic ● Aug. 31, 2023
The statue depicted a young boy, his chin up and hat tipped back, holding a furled Confederate flag to his side.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 14, 2022
And it was before a short, ruffled cocktail frock appeared, with the frills at the back furled like rose petals and the front obscured by a refrigerator.
From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2021
In one hand her cane, in the other a furled flag.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Near the bandstand, a group of people danced in a circle to Khmer music, dreamily furling their fingers and twisting their wrists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2022
Decades after the furling of Britain’s union flag, he waved his liberation credentials with such skill and frequency that he stood as an emblem, however flawed, of Africa’s yearning to be free of outside control.
From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2017
Mostly, though, what’s satisfying about “Other Lives” is that there’s some actual meat on the bones of the story; it’s not just insinuation and cigarette smoke furling into a dark bar.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2015
A problem with the furling system on the main sail was the cause of Ainslie's problems, according to Branson.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2015
Some of the crew were on the yards, furling the sails; some of them, down below.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
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.
