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:
To unreeve the running part of top-sail sheets, &c., to let them run freely, or for harbour duty.
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 Sir Edward Belcher
At last, as I had repeatedly warned him, the mate singled him out one morning, and commanded him to mount to the main-truck, and unreeve the short signal halyards.
From Redburn. His First Voyage by Herman Melville
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 H. M. (Henry Marriott) Paget
On examining it he found that he could unreeve some of the rope.
From The Rival Crusoes by William Henry Giles Kingston
Lower them down and let the falls unreeve, so that they will go adrift.
From The Wreck of the Titan or, Futility by Morgan Robertson
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 Samuel Adams Drake
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.
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 Jules Verne
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 Charles W. Hall
In my next attempt I made sure of not coming by a similar accident, so I unreeved the tackling and fitted up larger blocks and ropes.
From The Coral Island A Tale of the Pacific Ocean by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
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 Sir Edward Belcher
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
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 William Heysham Overend
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 J. Schonberg
All this time, I was busily working, unreeving the port buntline.
From The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson
When they struck the water, the falls were instantly let go; and, as the boats drifted astern, the tackles unrove their long length from the blocks, and were hauled on board again.
From The Wreck of the Titan or, Futility by Morgan Robertson
At a short distance from the city were moored several large ships, their masts struck, their rigging unrove, deserted by their crews, and some by their officers likewise.
From A Voyage round the World A book for boys by William Henry Giles Kingston
It was the same which they had used in projecting their tree-bridge across the crevasse; and which they had long ago unrove from its pulleys, and brought home to the hut.
From The Cliff Climbers A Sequel to "The Plant Hunters" by Mayne Reid
The schooner's fore and main sheets, that had not been made fast, unrove at the first gust and began to slat wildly in the wind.
From Moran of the Lady Letty by Frank Norris
I did what was far more likely to prove effectual—I unrove the peak-halliards, cutting them clear with my knife, and fastened one end to the wooden grating over the cabin sky-light.
From Peter Trawl The Adventures of a Whaler by James Durden
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