sail 1 of 2

1
as in to boat
to travel on water in a vessel I can't sail when there's any breeze at all because I get seasick easily

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2
3
as in to hover
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air a leaf sailed by, carried by the breeze

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sail

2 of 2

noun

as in voyage
a journey over water in a vessel we went for a brief sail on the bay to relax

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sail
Verb
The two ships will swap itineraries, with Prima sailing Breakaway's Southern Caribbean cruises and Breakaway sailing Prima's Western Caribbean cruises. Nathan Diller, USA Today, 7 July 2025 The eastern side brings you to the mouth of the canal, and often, tall ships, giant yachts and other interesting boats are sailing by. Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 6 July 2025
Noun
Advertisement Gayton seized Platt again and set sail from Jamaica, keeping him in shackles for months aboard his ship before transferring him to another Royal Navy frigate, which transferred him to a third naval ship headed to England. Time, 9 July 2025 In 1648, a group of English Puritans set sail from Bermuda to avoid religious persecution only to smack into Devil’s Backbone reef. Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 9 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for sail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sail
Verb
  • For the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, each nation was also boated down the river, making the Seine a focal point for Olympians and visitors.
    Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 12 July 2025
  • The Chinese have forbidden any fishing or boating on the lake due to conservation commitments, but our guide informed us that occasionally North Korean soldiers will venture with a boat for fishing in the lake.
    Saleem H. Ali, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Verb
  • The death toll has rose to over 120 people killed since heavy rainfall overwhelmed the Guadalupe River and flowed through homes and summer camps in the early morning hours of July 4.
    Jay Stahl, USA Today, 12 July 2025
  • Both the Sai and the Kok rivers flow into the Mekong, as does the Ruak, where unsafe levels of arsenic have also been found.
    Michael Sullivan, NPR, 12 July 2025
Verb
  • Gold has been hovering in the mid-$3,300s this week, but a change in the appetite for stocks could raise demand for the precious metal.
    Catherine Brock, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025
  • Our first destination, with the hazy sun hovering over the Norway pine trees skirting Mirror Lake, was the beach bar.
    Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 15 July 2025
Noun
  • The voyage had been long-planned with her spouse of many decades.
    Guy Trebay, Travel + Leisure, 15 July 2025
  • There was no Deep Space Network to track and command the spacecraft, and navigating to Venus was less challenging than the voyage to Mars, which was almost twice as long — some 325 million miles (523 million km).
    Rod Pyle, Space.com, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • Trump plan for states to oversee national parks could lead to more Grand Canyon damage Miller specified concern about bears who may struggle to ferry cubs away from the fires and birds that may be singed while trying to escape.
    Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 19 July 2025
  • Some are used for surveillance and some to ferry supplies, but most of them, laden with explosives and directed by an operator through a video screen, are crashed directly into their targets.
    Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • The fact that it's made in Rome made wearing it while cruising the Mediterranean feel even more special.
    Alexis Benveniste, Travel + Leisure, 14 July 2025
  • Cameron and the bullpen were cruising until the Mets powered their way to two runs in the ninth inning off All-Star closer Carlos Estevez, who was bidding to set a Royals record for saves before an All-Star break.
    Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 13 July 2025
Verb
  • The sports arena floated as a solution to save the State Fair site never materialized, but new buildings did begin to replace the old on the fairgrounds, including a 1,000-seat amphitheater in 1974 and a new Coliseum in 1976.
    Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 24 July 2025
  • Musk originally floated the retro-diner concept in 2018, with city construction approvals for the Hollywood location secured in 2023.
    Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 July 2025
Verb
  • Employees glide swiftly through the open kitchen, sprinkling tacos with In-A-Tub’s signature orange cheese dust.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 18 July 2025
  • Even when it's packed full, the wheels glide like a dream over multiple surfaces with no wayward drifting (usually a point of failure for softsides that may lean with weight).
    Jamie Hergenrader, Travel + Leisure, 15 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Sail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sail. Accessed 26 Jul. 2025.

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