solar sail

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noun

Aerospace. a design concept for spacecraft propulsion consisting of a very thin, very large sheet of highly polished material that would be driven by the pressure of sunlight.

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Origin of solar sail

First recorded in 1955–60

Words nearby solar sail

solar plexus, solar pond, solar power, solar radiation, solar radius, solar sail, solar ship, solar still, solar system, solar time, solar urticaria

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use solar sail in a sentence

The spacecraft’s school bus-sized solar sail is made from a tough, Saran-wrap-like plastic that catches sunbeams as the probe leaves our planet behind.
The most high-flying aerospace innovations of 2021|Charlie Wood and Rob Verger|December 2, 2021|Popular-Science
At the University of Liverpool, we are exploring new manufacturing techniques for printing ultralight solar cells on to solar sails.
Solar Power Stations in Space Could Be the Answer to Our Energy Needs|Amanda Jane Hughes|November 27, 2020|Singularity Hub
Some refugees wait for days on the ships before setting sail.
Ghost Ships of the Mediterranean|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
They get $8 million to dredge the channel for pleasure boats to sail to Catalina Island.
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Then they set sail for open water, where they were assured someone would rescue them.
Inside the Smuggling Networks Flooding Europe with Refugees|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On August 22, some 88 ships set sail for the southern point of Brooklyn allowing more than 22,000 troops to begin their attack.
The British Royals Reinvade Brooklyn: William and Kate Come Watch Basketball on Historic Battle Site|Justin Jones|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The service module also deploys four arrays of solar panels.
To Infinity and Beyond! NASA’s Orion Mission Blasts Off|Matthew R. Francis|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A lateen sail was visible in the direction of Cat Island, and others to the south seemed almost motionless in the far distance.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Let them that sail on the sea, tell the dangers thereof: and when we hear with our ears, we shall admire.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
As it came near, it proved to be the clock, with a sail hoisted, and the Goblin sitting complacently in the stern.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
There is no reason to suppose that his is the only Solar System: there may be many millions of solar systems.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
For aught we know, there may be millions of systems, each containing millions of solar systems.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford

British Dictionary definitions for solar sail

solar sail

noun

a device that reflects light particles from the Sun, gaining momentum in the opposite direction to propel spacecraft forwards

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for solar sail

solar sail

A saillike device that is made of lightweight and highly reflective material and attached to a spacecraft to harness the radiation pressure of the solar wind and light for propulsion. Also called light sail