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sailing ship

American  

noun

  1. a large ship equipped with sails.


sailing ship British  

noun

  1. a large sailing vessel

"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

Etymology

Origin of sailing ship

First recorded in 1880–85

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.

Its first vessel, a sailing ship named the Rembrandt van Rijn, initially operated in Belize and the Galápagos.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

Authorities in New York are investigating the site where a Mexican sailing ship struck the Brooklyn Bridge for clues about how the fatal collision occurred.

From BBC • May 18, 2025

The idea began when Hay saw an etching of a 19th-century sailing ship in a Fiji museum.

From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2024

Among them was a sailing ship named Trinidad that sank in Lake Michigan about 150 years ago.

From DOGO News • Sep. 27, 2023

Inside the three-masted sailing ship, their berths were tiny and cluttered with luggage and supplies.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

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