spanker
Americannoun
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Nautical.
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a fore-and-aft sail on the aftermost lower mast of a sailing vessel having three or more masts.
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a designation given to the mast abaft a mizzenmast, usually the aftermost mast in any vessel.
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Informal. a smartly moving person or animal, especially a fast horse.
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Chiefly New England. something remarkably fine.
adjective
noun
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nautical a fore-and-aft sail or a mast that is aftermost in a sailing vessel
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informal a person or animal that moves at a quick smart pace
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informal something outstandingly fine or large
Etymology
Origin of spanker
First recorded in 1745–55; akin to spanking
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.
“Let’s set the spanker, I just want to see what happens!” calls the skipper, excited like a Christmas-morning child.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2016
And, yes, a spanker of behinds when the owners of said behinds got too outrageously out of line.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 19, 2014
She answered them, and brailed her spanker, and they naturally thought she was preparing to bear up for their rescue.
From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 2 by Frederick Whymper
Persons who have reputation to care for should beware how they adopt this plan, which now and then eventuates a spanker, as the American editor said.
From A Budget of Paradoxes, Volume II by David Eugene Smith
Partially to relieve the tedium of inactivity, in compliance with an urgent request for some useful employment, I was allowed to repair the ship’s spanker.
From The Captive in Patagonia by Benjamin Franklin Bourne
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
