sailing
Americannoun
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the activity of a person or thing that sails.
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the departure of a ship from port.
The cruise line offers sailings every other day.
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Navigation. any of various methods for determining courses and distances by means of charts or with reference to longitudes and latitudes, rhumb lines, great circles, etc.
noun
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the practice, art, or technique of sailing a vessel
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a method of navigating a vessel
rhumb-line sailing
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an instance of a vessel's leaving a port
scheduled for a midnight sailing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sailing
before 900; Middle English seiling, Old English seglung. See sail, -ing 1
Explanation
The activity or sport of riding in a boat that's propelled by the wind is sailing. If not even the slightest breeze is blowing, it's not a great day for sailing. Sailing can be as simple as jumping aboard a friend's sailboat and taking a ride on a lake. Being in charge of piloting the boat, shifting the sails, and keeping it moving on the water, is also sailing. If you're curious how it's done, you can take sailing lessons!
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.
Other prime ministers' choices reflect their own personal passions – Ted Heath donated books about music and sailing.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
"While it seems obvious that ships sailing long distances need repairs, it's simply not easy to demonstrate this," concluded Charrié.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
It was not all plain sailing for the home side, who lost openers Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay to find themselves 48-2 in the reply.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Taipei could be seen sailing alongside a U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“Funny,” the woman continued, “you’ve got the same name as the adventure writer. But I don’t reckon he’d need sailing lessons!”
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
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.
