- present participle of sail.
sailing
Americannoun
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the activity of a person or thing that sails.
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the departure of a ship from port.
The cruise line offers sailings every other day.
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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.
noun
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the practice, art, or technique of sailing a vessel
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a method of navigating a vessel
rhumb-line sailing
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an instance of a vessel's leaving a port
scheduled for a midnight sailing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sailing
before 900; Middle English seiling, Old English seglung. See sail, -ing 1
Explanation
The activity or sport of riding in a boat that's propelled by the wind is sailing. If not even the slightest breeze is blowing, it's not a great day for sailing. Sailing can be as simple as jumping aboard a friend's sailboat and taking a ride on a lake. Being in charge of piloting the boat, shifting the sails, and keeping it moving on the water, is also sailing. If you're curious how it's done, you can take sailing lessons!
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.
In December last year, Finnish police detained a vessel sailing from Russia, which was suspected of damaging an undersea telecoms cable running from Helsinki to Estonia, across the Gulf of Finland.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Bodin said that Villa Vie had guaranteed at least 15 to 20 years’ worth of sailing for the Odyssey’s resident passengers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
The Stena Line sailing between Dublin and Holyhead has not been affected.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
But Magyar knew a majority of passengers on a recent sailing were from Texas and wouldn’t welcome a party that coincided with football games featuring the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
Then Nat’s days and nights settled down once more to the steady grind of sailing by ash breeze—working all day in the chandlery, studying late every night.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
