unreeve
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to unreeve a rope.
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(of a rope) to become unreeved.
verb
Etymology
Origin of unreeve
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.
See Examples For:
We had first to unreeve all the ropes, and unbend all the sails.
From Peter Trawl The Adventures of a Whaler by Durden, James
On examining it he found that he could unreeve some of the rope.
From The Rival Crusoes by Kingston, William Henry Giles
But he carried all sail till the rotten main-sheet parted at the boom, and when he came up in the wind to lower the sail the main throat halyard refused to unreeve.
From Dick in the Everglades by Dimock, A. W.
Jump down, all of you, and lend a hand and unreeve the halliards from the mast and bind her as tight as you can to the branches; pass the ropes under the thwarts.
From Captain Bayley's Heir: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California by Paget, H. M. (Henry Marriott)
Do you, Walter, make a rope fast round the bits; unreeve the fore halliards, they will suit best, and are new and strong.
From Captain Mugford Our Salt and Fresh Water Tutors by Holloway, W. Herbert
Yet it pleased God to allay the fury of the storm, and we unreeved our sheets, tacks, halyards, and other ropes, and made fast our ship to the trees on shore, close by the rocks.
Again and again the noose came back unreeved, and again and again the patient boy, with rare strength and skill, flung the ample noose over the slippery spires of ice.
From Adrift in the Ice-Fields by Hall, Charles W.
As the Forward began to be weather-worn, the masts were unreeved, for they could no longer rely on the variable wind, and the sails were nearly useless in the winding channels.
From The English at the North Pole Part I of the Adventures of Captain Hatteras by Verne, Jules
The very manner in which the yards were crossed told as plainly of abandonment as unreeved blocks and slackened rigging betokened a careless indifference of her future.
From Nooks and Corners of the New England Coast by Drake, Samuel Adams
Therefore they unreeved two long lines and attached them to the long-boat, one on each side.
From Library of the World's Best literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 12 by Various
At last they could hold out no longer, and Harry, unreeving the rope, descended to the water and brought up a hatful.
From The Young Berringtons The Boy Explorers by Kingston, William Henry Giles
Also, the lug of the cascable is cut open to admit of the bight of the breeching falling into it, thus obviating the loss of time by unreeving.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir
This he conveyed on deck, and, unreeving as much of the running-gear as he could get at, a good long warp was made by bending the whole together end to end.
From The Missing Merchantman by Overend, William Heysham
Run your boat alongside of the capsized one's mast and strip its sail off, unfastening the throat and peak blocks, unreeving the sheet-rope, and cutting the lashings of the sail to the mast-hoops.
From Harper's Round Table, September 3, 1895 by Various
Then, I set them to work unreeving the gear and making things snug for setting up our jury-masts, of which this is the first—a downright seamanlike piece of work I call it.”
From The White Squall A Story of the Sargasso Sea by Schonberg, J.
The ropes were then unrove and secured to another rock or tree.
From Dick Onslow Among the Redskins by Soper, George
The ropes were unrove, the hands were piped down, and the boats returned to their respective ships.
From Will Weatherhelm The Yarn of an Old Sailor by Webb, Archibald
To guard against the possibility of any of the party being swept away by the undertow, the halliards had been unrove and were used as a life-line.
From The Wireless Officer by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)
Employed when lower yards are struck in bad weather to prevent them from swaying about after the trusses are unrove.
From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Belcher, Edward, Sir
The light canvas of the Coquette was taken in, the studding-sail-gear unrove, and the booms secured.
From The Water-Witch or, the Skimmer of the Seas by Cooper, James Fenimore
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.
