Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

reef2

[reef]Nautical
See more synonyms for reef on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a part of a sail that is rolled and tied down to reduce the area exposed to the wind.
Show More
verb (used with object)
  1. to shorten (sail) by tying in one or more reefs.
  2. to reduce the length of (a topmast, a bowsprit, etc.), as by lowering, sliding inboard, or the like.
  3. to pull (old oakum) out of seams, as with a rave hook (often followed by out).
Show More

Origin of reef2

1350–1400; Middle English refe (noun) < Dutch reef
Related formsun·reefed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

wrecked, ashore, stranded, marooned, decelerate, hinder, retard, moderate, slacken, relax, lessen, lag, reduce, stall, decrease, abate, curb, diminish, impede, curtail

Examples from the Web for reefed

Historical Examples

  • Sails were furled, others were reefed, and all was made fairly snug.

    The Last Voyage

    Lady (Annie Allnutt) Brassey

  • He was reefed close and was making for the inlet, up Bay End way.

    Janet of the Dunes

    Harriet T. Comstock

  • The sails were not reefed, for it was not known when they might be required.

    Frank Merriwell's Cruise

    Burt L. Standish

  • Perfectly cool, he stood waiting till the sails were reefed.

    The Three Midshipmen

    W.H.G. Kingston

  • We had been under lower-topsails and a reefed foresail all night.

British Dictionary definitions for reefed

reef1

noun
  1. a ridge of rock, sand, coral, etc, the top of which lies close to the surface of the sea
  2. a ridge- or mound-like structure built by sedentary calcareous organisms (esp corals) and consisting mainly of their remains
  3. a vein of ore, esp one of gold-bearing quartz
Show More

Word Origin

C16: from Middle Dutch ref, from Old Norse rif rib 1, reef ²

reef2

noun
  1. the part gathered in when sail area is reduced, as in a high wind
Show More
verb
  1. to reduce the area of (sail) by taking in a reef
  2. (tr) to shorten or bring inboard (a spar)
Show More

Word Origin

C14: from Middle Dutch rif; related to Old Norse rif reef, rib 1, German reffen to reef; see reef 1

Reef

noun the Reef
  1. another name for the Great Barrier Reef
  2. another name for the Witwatersrand
Show More
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

Word Origin and History for reefed

reef

v.

1660s, "take in, roll up" (as a sail on a ship), from reef (n.2). Related: Reefed; reefing.

Show More

reef

n.1

"rock ridge underwater," 1580s, riffe, probably via Dutch riffe, from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse rif "ridge in the sea; reef in a sail," literally "rib" (see rib (n.)).

Show More

reef

n.2

"horizontal section of sail," late 14c. (mid-14c. in rif-rope), from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse rif "reef of a sail," probably a transferred use of rif "ridge under the sea; rib" (see rib (n.) and cf. reef (n.1)). German reff, Swedish ref, Norwegian riv, Danish reb likely all are from the Old Norse word.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
reefed in Science

reef

[rēf]
  1. A strip or ridge of rocks, sand, or coral that rises to or near the surface of a body of water. See more at coral reef.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.