sailmaker

American  

[seyl-mey-ker] / ˈseɪlˌmeɪ kər /

noun

1. a person who makes or repairs sails.

2. a former rank of warrant officer in the U.S. Navy.

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Etymology

Origin of sailmaker

First recorded in 1590–1600; sail + maker

Example Sentences

“The breakthrough boat was a disaster,” said another Turner friend and crewmen, the sailmaker Robbie Doyle.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Muzi, a Taoist monk and sailmaker, joins the crew partway through the novel and guides the captain using divinations from the “I Ching,” something which the rest of the crew finds understandably strange.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2026

Active free Black communities, led by men such as the brilliant Philadelphia sailmaker James Forten, managed to prevent the most extreme of such laws from sweeping into states such as Pennsylvania and New York.

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2021

As I had worked as a sailmaker for many years earlier in life, I sort of dusted off those skills and did that.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2017

This from a surfman named Mr. Canning, a sailmaker by trade but a surfman, like all of them, with no name but that when a ship wrecked in these waters.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk