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

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set sail

The Lincoln, normally based in San Diego, set sail in November for a routine deployment to the Pacific.

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

HMS Erebus, captained by Sir John Franklin, set sail in 1845.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

More than 50 boats taking part in the flotilla set sail from Turkey last Thursday.

From BBC ● May 20, 2026

Elisha and his remaining crew had spent eighty-four days crossing over ice, until they found open waters and set sail on the smaller whaling boats.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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