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:
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 A. W. Dimock
To pass the end of a rope through any cavity or aperture, as the channel of a block; to unreeve is the opposite.
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
Now, then, unreeve y'r halyards! all clear there! pass the end for'd outside the rigging! outside! you fools!
From Moran of the Lady Letty by Frank Norris
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
On examining it he found that he could unreeve some of the rope.
From The Rival Crusoes by William Henry Giles Kingston
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
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
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
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.
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
All this time, I was busily working, unreeving the port buntline.
From The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson
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
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
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
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
That fellow swam off to the coaster—five hundred yards or so—with the end of a warp made up of all the running gear unrove for the purpose.
From Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
The top-sails and courses were kept bent to the yards, the sheets being unrove, and the clews tucked in.
From The World of Ice by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
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
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 Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman
We bent all our spare lines; we unrove sheets and halyards; we used our two-inch hawser; we fastened lines part way up the mast, half way up, and everywhere else.
From A Collection of Stories by Jack London
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