What does "sail" mean?
A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination of mast, spars and ropes.
Sail
/seɪl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination of mast, spars and ropes.
- Grammar: sail is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: canvas, cruise, aeroplane, airlift.
- Useful contrasts: becalmed, arrive, beach.
- Usage evidence: The sail tightened in the strong wind.
How to use "sail"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sail" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sail" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sail" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sail" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sail" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "canvas" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sail", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination of mast, spars and ropes. countable, uncountable
"When we haue laught to ſee the ſailes conceiue / And grow big bellied with the wanton winde; […]"
- 2 Acronym of snow avalanche impact landform. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 3 an ocean trip taken for pleasure wordnet
- 4 The concept of a sail or sails, as if a substance. uncountable
"Take in sail: a storm is coming."
- 5 a large piece of fabric (usually canvas fabric) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 The power harnessed by a sail or sails, or the use of this power for travel or transport. uncountable
- 7 any structure that resembles a sail wordnet
- 8 A trip in a boat, especially a sailboat. countable, uncountable
"Let's go for a sail."
- 9 A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft. countable, dated, uncountable
"Twenty sail were in sight."
- 10 The conning tower of a submarine. countable, uncountable
- 11 The blade of a windmill. countable, uncountable
"So furious had been the gusts, that high buildings in town had had the lead stripped off their roofs; and in the country, trees had been torn up, and sails of windmills carried away; and gloomy accounts had come in from the coast, of shipwreck and death."
- 12 A tower-like structure found on the dorsal (topside) surface of submarines. countable, uncountable
- 13 The floating organ of siphonophores, such as the Portuguese man-of-war. countable, uncountable
- 14 A sailfish. countable, uncountable
"We caught three sails today."
- 15 an outward projection of the spine, occurring in certain dinosaurs and synapsids countable, uncountable
- 16 Anything resembling a sail, such as a wing. countable, uncountable
"Like an eagle […]soaring / / To weather his broad sails."
Verb
- 1 To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water; to be impelled on a body of water by steam or other power.
"Fair ship, that from the Italian shore, Sailest the placid ocean-plains With my lost Arthur’s loved remains, Spread thy full wings, and waft him o’er."
- 2 travel on water propelled by wind or by other means wordnet
- 3 To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a waterfowl.
- 4 traverse or travel on (a body of water) wordnet
- 5 To ride in a boat, especially a sailboat.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 move with sweeping, effortless, gliding motions wordnet
- 7 To set sail; to begin a voyage. intransitive
"We sail for Australia tomorrow."
- 8 travel on water propelled by wind wordnet
- 9 To move briskly and gracefully through the air.
"As is a winged messenger of heaven, […] / When he bestrides the lazy pacing clouds, / And sails upon the bosom of the air."
- 10 To move briskly but sedately. intransitive
"The duchess sailed haughtily out of the room."
- 11 To deal out (cards) from a distance by impelling them across a surface. transitive
"He would sit his hat across the room, and we would sail cards into it."
Example
"The sail tightened in the strong wind."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sail"?
Common synonyms include: canvas, cruise, aeroplane, airlift, airplane, balloon.
How do you use "sail" in a sentence?
The sail tightened in the strong wind.
How do you pronounce "sail"?
Pronounced /seɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English saile, sayle, seil, seyl, from Old English seġl, from Proto-West Germanic *segl, from Proto-Germanic *seglą. Cognate with West Frisian seil, Low German Segel, Dutch zeil, German Segel, Danish sejl, Swedish segel.
Etymology 2
From Middle English sailen, saylen, seilen, seilien, from Old English seġlan, siġlan (“to sail”), from Proto-West Germanic *siglijan, from *siglijaną. Cognate with West Frisian sile, Low German seilen, Dutch zeilen, German segeln, Danish sejle, Swedish segla, Icelandic sigla.