Noun
Wind filled the sails and our journey had begun.
raising and lowering the ship's sails
a sail to San Francisco Verb
We'll sail along the coast.
He sailed around the world on a luxury liner.
She sailed the Atlantic coastline.
She's sailing a boat in tomorrow's race.
The ship was sailed by a crew of 8.
I've been sailing since I was a child.
a ship that has sailed the seven seas
We sat on the shore watching boats sail by.
We sail at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
They sail for San Francisco next week.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The 1,200-foot long Icon of the Seas set sail from Florida on May 25 bound for its first stop at Honduras, reports the Royal Caribbean Blog.—Owen Bellwood / Jalopnik, Quartz, 28 May 2024 Fortunately, cruising doesn’t have to cost a small fortune, and many budget-conscious travelers may opt to set sail for their next trip.—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 27 May 2024
Verb
The Vision of the Seas sailed a 5-night voyage to Bermuda, while the Carnival Pride embarked on a 14-day voyage to Greenland and Canada.—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 28 May 2024 With two outs and two runners on, Elliott smacked a fastball that — just barely — sailed over the center field wall to give Monterey a 4-1 lead.—Nathan Canilao, The Mercury News, 24 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for sail
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English segl; akin to Old High German segal sail
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
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