luff
noun
the forward edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
had luffed
-
past perfectof luff.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
By this time, the schooner had luffed up into the wind, and Tom directed his companions to pull again.
From The Soldier Boy; or, Tom Somers in the Army A Story of the Great Rebellion by Oliver Optic
By this time the schooner had luffed up within a cable's length of the ice, along the margin of which she was running under easy sail.
From The Sea Lions The Lost Sealers by James Fenimore Cooper
Two more headsails followed; and before the tattooed man had scrambled to his feet, a topsail schooner, of some hundred tons, had luffed about the sentinel and was standing up the bay, close-hauled.
From The Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson
In the meantime, the man at the wheel had luffed until the weather leeches were flat and the ship scarcely moving.
From Great Sea Stories by Joseph Lewis French
In the meantime, the Flyaway had luffed up; though she was nearer to Carrie than Paul's boat, she was rapidly drifting to leeward.
From Little By Little or, The Cruise of the Flyaway by Oliver Optic
