gunwale

or gun·nel

[ guhn-l ]

/ ˈgʌn l /

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noun Nautical.

the upper edge of the side or bulwark of a vessel.

the sheer strake of a wooden vessel; the uppermost strake beneath the plank-sheer.

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Origin of gunwale

1325–75; Middle English. See gun¹, wale¹; a plank so called because guns were set upon it

Words nearby gunwale

Gunter's chain, Gunther, Günther's disease, gun-toting, Guntur, gunwale, gunyah, Günz, Günzberg's test, Guo Moruo, guppy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use gunwale in a sentence

Amy, who was strong and quick, reached over the gunwale of the canoe and seized upon the crooked figure.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn|Margaret Penrose
We went on board the Danish ship, for there was not enough sea to prevent our lying gunwale to gunwale for a moment.
A Prince of Cornwall|Charles W. Whistler
On either side of the gunwale aft is fitted a brass crutch for supporting the main boom when the vessel is at anchor (fig. 21).
Yachting Vol. 2|Various.
Then passed rafts of wood interminably long, and barges loaded to the gunwale, and nearly sinking under water.
Michael Strogoff|Jules Verne

Déruchette heard the sound of the boat-hook among the shingle, and the step of the man on the gunwale of the boat.
Toilers of the Sea|Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for gunwale

gunwale

gunnel

/ (ˈɡʌnəl) /

noun

nautical the top of the side of a boat or the topmost plank of a wooden vessel

full to the gunwales completely full; full to overflowing

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