sail 1 of 2

verb

Definition of sailnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to flow
to move or proceed smoothly and readily sailed through the latest assignment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

sail

2 of 2

noun

ˈsāl How to pronounce sail (audio)
as in voyage
a journey over water in a vessel we went for a brief sail on the bay to relax

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 actors learned how to sail and how to row and the boat’s 26-man crew were dressed as extras and incorporated into the movie. — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026 Where Crystal Symphony Sails The ship is sailing to Alaska in the summer of 2026 before moving onward to Canada, New England, and the Caribbean. — Fran Golden, Travel + Leisure, 7 July 2026
Noun
Juan Soto was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, something that usually might take the wind out of the sails early, but Bo Bichette came through with a single to score Lindor. — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 5 July 2026 The Dodgers’ sails were becalmed for six innings by Padres starter Michael King, leaving them trailing 3-0 in the seventh. — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 4 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for sail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sail
  1. boat
  2. flow
  3. hover
  4. voyage
  5. ferry
  6. cruise
  7. float
  8. glide
Verb
  • No boating deaths were recorded during that period, the patrol said.
    — Emily Harter, Kansas City Star, 6 July 2026
  • Severe storms cause widespread damage in Wisconsin The boating incident occurred as severe thunderstorms moved across southern Wisconsin, triggering widespread damage in Walworth County.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 4 July 2026
Definition of boat
Verb
  • England fans are flooding to Miami, with over 30,000 expected for the game as stories of last-minute trips via here, there and everywhere flow as freely as the drinks.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 12 July 2026
  • There is an ethos in the tech industry that talent and information should be able to flow freely and that execution is what ultimately wins.
    — Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 11 July 2026
Definition of flow
Verb
  • The share of younger adults living with parents hovered well below 30% in the early years of the new millennium.
    — Daniel de Visé, USA Today, 11 July 2026
  • If the filmmakers present Zidane as an Everyman equivalent to James Joyce’s Leopold Bloom or Camus’ protagonist Meursault, their approach is fertile because the same questions that hover around Meursault also surround Zizou.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 11 July 2026
Definition of hover
Noun
  • And as the ships’ names imply, a voyage on any one of these vessels is one that is designed to bring happiness to all who partake.
    — Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 July 2026
  • The acclaimed author of The Invention of Nature, Andrea Wulf brings erudition and flair to Forster’s peripatetic career as teenaged crewman on Captain Cook’s global voyage.
    — Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026
Definition of voyage
Verb
  • Jet skis ferried survivors back to shore while people on the beach provided first aid.
    — Aniruddha Ghosal, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
  • Embracing a local landmark, the park course had a ramp styled after Sacramento’s Tower Bridge, the State Fair site’s iconic sky ride ferried guests and skateboarder Nyjah Huston of nearby Davis made a podium at age 31.
    — Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of ferry
Verb
  • Lounge on the private beach or play sand volleyball, and cruise the lake in complimentary kayaks, canoes, and stand-up paddleboards.
    — Tree Meinch, Midwest Living, 11 July 2026
  • The first quarterfinal of this year’s World Cup went by without much drama yesterday with Les Bleus cruising into the semifinals with a simple 2-0 win against a less-than-impressive Morocco.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 10 July 2026
Definition of cruise
Verb
  • For something slower-paced, float the Penticton channel that connects Okanagan and Skaha lakes on tube rafts.
    — Maryam Siddiqi, Travel + Leisure, 13 July 2026
  • Others float slowly just below geostationary orbit, listening to the signals emanating from communications and early warning satellites stationed there.
    — Gerry Doyle, Fortune, 13 July 2026
Definition of float
Verb
  • Who are these slimy gastropods that have been gliding across Earth since before the Ice Age?
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 July 2026
  • An endless procession of black SUVs, Escalades, luxury coaches, polished muscle cars and Uber Blacks glided onto West 31st Street.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 7 July 2026
Definition of glide

Phrases Containing sail

Browse Nearby Words

said uncle
sail
sailboat
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sail. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on sail

Nglish: Translation of sail for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sail

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of yaw

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All