set sail

Idioms  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

set sail

In June, a four-person Houthi delegation set sail from Yemen, crossed the Gulf of Aden and came ashore in southern Somalia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

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

From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026

A century ago this month, the Royal Research Ship William Scoresby set sail from Humber Dock, in Hull, on a voyage to the southern oceans.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 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

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