ratline

or rat·lin

[ rat-lin ]

/ ˈræt lɪn /

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noun Nautical.

any of the small ropes or lines that traverse the shrouds horizontally and serve as steps for going aloft.

Also ratline stuff . three-stranded, right-laid, tarred hemp stuff of from 6 to 24 threads, used for ratlines, lashings, etc.

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Origin of ratline

First recorded in 1475–85; earlier ratling, radelyng< ?

Words nearby ratline

ratio test, Ratisbon, Rat Islands, ratite, rat-kangaroo, ratline, RATO, rat on, ratoon, rat pack, rat race

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ratline in a sentence

In walking along her gun-deck, he accidentally ran against a ratline, by which one of her starboard guns was discharged.
The Naval History of the United States|Willis J. Abbot.
A piece of small ratline was fixed to the slings, with the handlead made fast to it so that it would sink.
The Book of the Bush|George Dunderdale
A musket-ball carried away a ratline above his head, just as he reached forward.
Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812|James Barnes
A sailor came slipping down the ratline one night, as though something had happened, and the sailors cried, "What's the matter?"
The Wedding Ring|T. De Witt Talmage

You will soon have furled your last sail, and run up the last ratline, and weathered the last gale, and made the last voyage.
Around The Tea-Table|T. De Witt Talmage

British Dictionary definitions for ratline

ratline

ratlin

/ (ˈrætlɪn) /

noun

nautical any of a series of light lines tied across the shrouds of a sailing vessel for climbing aloft

Word Origin for ratline

C15: of unknown origin

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