sailboat
Americannoun
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Etymology
Origin of sailboat
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How does sailboat compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A sailboat is a relatively small boat that uses wind power to propel it forward. When the wind is strong enough, sailboats can move very quickly. Ahoy! Sailboats, called sailing boats in Britain, can have anywhere from one to as many as five sails. Larger water vessels that move using sails are distinguished as "sailing ships" rather than sailboats. You might take a tour on a schooner, a large sailboat with two masts, or take a sailing lesson in a small, single-sail dingy. No matter which kind of sailboat, it moves by angling its sails into the wind.
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.
It’s almost like Joan’s is the motor on a sailboat.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026
Maybe you have looked at the clouds and imagined a sailboat, a seahorse, or even your great-aunt Rosemary staring back at you.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2026
Vaughan had been on the boat with her husband and two children, aged 12 and eight, and had been sunbathing when the motorboat crashed into a sailboat carrying party-goers.
From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025
A pilot friend who is crossing the Atlantic from the Canary Islands in a sailboat this month called cruise ships a “floating petri dish.‘
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025
There was a picture of a sailboat in the sunset, painted by her brother-in-law.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
