sailing

noun

sail·​ing ˈsā-liŋ 

1

a

: the technical skill of managing a ship : navigation

b

: the method of determining the course to be followed to reach a given point

2

a

: the sport of handling or riding in a sailboat

b

: a departure from a port

Examples of sailing in a Sentence

They're going sailing next week.

Recent Examples on the Web

South America is the starting point for another interesting repositioning cruise, from Silversea, which will offer a 22-day sailing on Silver Cloud in March 2027. —Scott Laird, Travel + Leisure, 12 May 2026

Guests were also offered 50% off a future sailing, complimentary hotel accommodations for May 7, reimbursement for hotel and flight changes, up to $500 coverage for incidentals, and additional assistance, on a case-by-case basis. —Eve Chen, USA Today, 11 May 2026

In one final crossover story today, check out this in-depth explanation of how Ferrari is getting involved in sailing. —Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 11 May 2026

Women’s sports are getting huge right now, but even niche properties like sailing or bull riding all fall into that category, earlier on the curve, and for investors, potentially more room to run. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 10 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing sailing

• clear sailing
• plain sailing
• sailing ship
• smooth sailing

Rhymes for sailing

• ailing
• bailing
• baling
• failing
• flailing
• grayling
• hailing
• jailing
• mailing
• nailing
• paling
• railing