sailing

[ sey-ling ]

/ ˈseɪ lɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sailing ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the activity of a person or thing that sails.

the departure of a ship from port: The cruise line offers sailings every other day.

Navigation. any of various methods for determining courses and distances by means of charts or with reference to longitudes and latitudes, rhumb lines, great circles, etc.

Nearby words

sailboarding, sailboat, sailcloth, sailer, sailfish, sailing, sailing boat, sailing length, sailing ship, sailmaker, sailmaker's palm

Origin of sailing

before 900; Middle English seiling, Old English seglung. See sail, -ing¹

Related formswell-sail·ing, adjective

Definition for sailing (2 of 2)

sail

[ seyl ]

/ seɪl /

noun

an area of canvas or other fabric extended to the wind in such a way as to transmit the force of the wind to an assemblage of spars and rigging mounted firmly on a hull, raft, iceboat, etc., so as to drive it along.

some similar piece or apparatus, as the part of an arm that catches the wind on a windmill.

a voyage or excursion, especially in a sailing vessel: They went for a sail around the island.

a sailing vessel or ship.

sailing vessels collectively: The fleet numbered 30 sail.

sails for a vessel or vessels collectively.

(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Vela.

verb (used without object)

to move along or travel over water: steamships sailing to Lisbon.

to manage a sailboat, especially for sport.

to begin a journey by water: We are sailing at dawn.

to move along in a manner suggestive of a sailing vessel: caravans sailing along.

to move along in a stately, effortless way: to sail into a room.

verb (used with object)

to sail upon, over, or through: to sail the seven seas.

to navigate (a vessel).

Verb Phrases

sail in/into, Informal.

to go vigorously into action; begin to act; attack.
to attack verbally: He would sail into his staff when work was going badly.

Origin of sail

before 900; (noun) Middle English sail(e), seille, Old English segl; cognate with German Segel, Old Norse segl; (v.) Middle English seillen, saylen, Old English siglan, seglian; cognate with Dutch zeilen, Old Norse sigla

Related formssail·a·ble, adjectivesail·less, adjectiveun·sail·a·ble, adjectiveun·sailed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sailing

But instead he pursued a life of science, sailing all over the world to study animal species and their environments.
‘Gods of Suburbia’: Dina Goldstein’s Arresting Photo Series on Religion vs. Consumerism|Dina Goldstein|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The book begins with Jack sailing on a British army supply ship heading for Africa during World War II.
Sebastian Barry’s Quarrel With Irish History|J.P. O’Malley|May 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The problem of serving she solved by sailing my plate to the table as if playing Frisbee.
‘The Land of the Permanent Wave’ Is Bud Shrake’s Classic Take on ‘60s Texas|Edwin Shrake|February 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But with the help of their pals at the Upright Citizens Brigade, they seem to be sailing through seamlessly.
Behind ‘Broad City’: Amy Poehler’s Girls of Comedy|Abby Haglage|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We are sailing across the ocean and we are replicating the escape of the children of Israel from Egypt.
Sunday Q&A: Josef Joffe on the Myth of American Decline|Michael Moynihan|November 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Whaling is done in three different ways: from canoes, from boats sent off by sailing ships, and from steamers direct.
All Afloat|William Wood
The day appointed for sailing was fast approaching, and had to make all speed to get through various engagements in Manilla.
Kathay: A Cruise in the China Seas|W. Hastings Macaulay
Sailing into the mouth of a river they saw vines laden with The Discovery.
Sir Walter Ralegh|William Stebbing
Which should be the fortunate one she should not decide until a week before the date fixed for sailing.
Harper's Round Table, May 7, 1895|Various
Then there was signaling between the Montauk and her own neighbor destroyer about sailing formation in the danger zone.
Tom Slade on a Transport|Percy Keese Fitzhugh

British Dictionary definitions for sailing (1 of 2)

sailing

/ (ˈseɪlɪŋ) /

noun

the practice, art, or technique of sailing a vessel

a method of navigating a vesselrhumb-line sailing

an instance of a vessel's leaving a portscheduled for a midnight sailing

British Dictionary definitions for sailing (2 of 2)

sail

/ (seɪl) /

noun

an area of fabric, usually Terylene or nylon (formerly canvas), with fittings for holding it in any suitable position to catch the wind, used for propelling certain kinds of vessels, esp over water

a voyage on such a vessela sail down the river

a vessel with sails or such vessels collectivelyto travel by sail; we raised seven sail in the northeast

a ship's sails collectively

something resembling a sail in shape, position, or function, such as the part of a windmill that is turned by the wind or the part of a Portuguese man-of-war that projects above the water

the conning tower of a submarine

in sail having the sail set

make sail

to run up the sail or to run up more sail
to begin a voyage

set sail

to embark on a voyage by ship
to hoist sail

under sail

with sail hoisted
under way

verb (mainly intr)

to travel in a boat or shipwe sailed to Le Havre

to begin a voyage; set sailwe sail at 5 o'clock

(of a vessel) to move over the waterthe liner is sailing to the Caribbean

(tr) to manoeuvre or navigate a vesselhe sailed the schooner up the channel

(tr) to sail overshe sailed the Atlantic single-handed

(often foll by over, through, etc) to move fast or effortlesslywe sailed through customs; the ball sailed over the fence

to move along smoothly; glide

(often foll by in or into) informal

to begin (something) with vigour
to make an attack (on) violently with words or physical force

Derived Formssailable, adjectivesailless, adjective

Word Origin for sail

Old English segl; related to Old Frisian seil, Old Norse segl, German Segel

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 sailing (1 of 3)

sailing

Old English seglinge, verbal noun from the source of sail (v.).

Word Origin and History for sailing (1 of 3)

sail

Old English segl "sail, veil, curtain," from Proto-Germanic *seglom (cf. Old Saxon, Swedish segel, Old Norse segl, Old Frisian seil, Dutch zeil, Old High German segal, German Segel), of obscure origin with no known cognates outside Germanic (Irish seol, Welsh hwyl "sail" are Germanic loan-words). In some sources (Klein, OED) referred to PIE root *sek- "to cut," as if meaning "a cut piece of cloth." To take the wind out of (someone's) sails (1888) is to deprive (someone) of the means of progress, especially by sudden and unexpected action, "as by one vessel sailing between the wind and another vessel," ["The Encyclopaedic Dictionary," 1888].

Word Origin and History for sailing (2 of 3)

sail

Old English segilan "travel on water in a ship; equip with a sail," from the same Germanic source as sail (n.); cognate with Old Norse sigla, Middle Dutch seghelen, Dutch zeilen, Middle Low German segelen, German segeln. Meaning "to set out on a sea voyage, leave port" is from c.1200. Related: Sailed; sailing.

Idioms and Phrases with sailing

sail

In addition to the idioms beginning with sail

sail close to the wind
sail into
sail through
sail under false colors

also see:

(sail under) false colors
plain sailing
set sail
smooth sailing
take the wind out of one's sails
trim one's sails

sailing

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of sailing

Definition for sailing (2 of 2)

sail

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

Origin of sail

Examples from the Web for sailing

British Dictionary definitions for sailing (1 of 2)

sailing

noun

British Dictionary definitions for sailing (2 of 2)

sail

noun

verb (mainly intr)

Word Origin for sail

Word Origin and History for sailing (1 of 3)

sailing

Word Origin and History for sailing (1 of 3)

sail

Word Origin and History for sailing (2 of 3)

sail

Idioms and Phrases with sailing

sail