unreeve

[ uhn-reev ]

verb (used with object),un·rove or un·reeved, un·ro·ven or un·reeved, un·reev·ing.

Nautical. to withdraw (a rope) from a block, thimble, etc.

verb (used without object),un·rove or un·reeved, un·ro·ven or un·reeved, un·reev·ing.

to unreeve a rope.
(of a rope) to become unreeved.

Origin of unreeve

First recorded in 1590–1600; un-² + reeve²

Words Nearby unreeve

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use unreeve in a sentence

"The rope has swollen, sir, and the pendants won't unreeve," cried the middy in agony.
A Simpleton | Charles Reade
Be careful to unreeve the clewlines through the quarter-blocks.
The Seaman's Friend | Richard Henry Dana
unreeve the halyards, or round them up to the block at the mast-head with a knot in their end.
The Seaman's Friend | Richard Henry Dana
To pass the end of a rope through any cavity or aperture, as the channel of a block; to unreeve is the opposite.
The Sailor's Word-Book | William Henry Smyth
To unreeve the running part of top-sail sheets, &c., to let them run freely, or for harbour duty.
The Sailor's Word-Book | William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for unreeve

unreeve

/ (ʌnˈriːv) /

verb-reeves, -reeving, -rove or -reeved

nautical to withdraw (a rope) from a block, thimble, etc

Origin of unreeve

C17: from un- ² + reeve ²

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

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