Synonyms

set sail

Idioms

Also, make sail. Begin a voyage on water, as in Dad rented a yacht, and we're about to set sail for the Caribbean, or We'll make sail for the nearest port. These expressions, dating from the early 1500s, originally meant “put the sails in position to catch the wind,” and hence cause the vessel to move.

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 set sail from the German island of Rügen, headed for the middle of the Baltic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

Rob Donald and his 19-year-old daughter Freya set sail from New South Wales, Australia in March 2025, heading for Norway.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

The intrepid pair will then set sail for the Netherlands, then on to Norway.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

The Mentor had set sail from New Bedford, Mass., the whaling capital of the United States, in July 1831, with a complement of 21 men led by Capt. Edward Barnard.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026

When Columbus set sail, he apparently assumed the earth was round, which was why he was convinced that he could get to India by going west.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023