sail 1 of 2

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

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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
There was still beer on the ship, but it was reserved for the crew, who had to sail back to England after dropping off the settlers. Jay R. Brooks, Mercury News, 2 July 2026 Gwinnett was an English clergymen’s son who sailed for the colonies in 1762 and opened a general store in Savannah in 1765. Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 30 June 2026
Noun
These trimarans will be able to hit a speed of 14 knots, or around 16 mph (26 km/h), by using weather routing techniques to catch the wind in their sails and go from Bayonne, France, to New York in about 13 days. Abhimanyu Ghoshal, New Atlas, 28 June 2026 The uncertainty is leaving many shipping company owners waiting to see a sustained period of incident-free crossings before allowing their vessels to set sail again. Eleni Giokos, CNN Money, 27 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for sail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sail
Verb
  • As a result, the department is urging the public to review water and boating safety guidance.
    Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 29 June 2026
  • Lily had an active life of golfing, skiing, and boating with her family.
    Melanie Thernstrom, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
Verb
  • Rainfall — as little as a tenth of an inch, according to the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, or ALCOSAN — can cause an overflow of stormwater and raw sewage to flow into the rivers.
    Finch Walker, USA Today, 5 July 2026
  • Through the morning, a river of mourners dressed in black flowed from the Grand Mosalla.
    Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Verb
  • Dark clouds hovered around the stadium just before kickoff, threatening to delay the start of the game, but Mother Nature apparently is a soccer fan, because the storm veered away.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 4 July 2026
  • Temperatures in the beach cities pleasantly hovered in the 70s, a stark contrast to East Coast communities broiling in a heat wave.
    Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
Noun
  • That night, Valencia, the vessel’s captain, set out with a crew of nine from Jaramijó, Ecuador, for what was expected to be a typical three-week voyage, casting lines for shark, marlin, and tuna.
    Will Freeman, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
  • The fair's conferences were held at the Art Institute, and on the current site of La Rabida Hospital was a recreation of the La Rabida convent in Spain, where Columbus plotted his voyages.
    Suzanne Le Mignot, CBS News, 27 June 2026
Verb
  • With a capacity of 45 passengers, the mésoscaphe, a submarine for shallow to mid-range depths, made more than a thousand dives that summer, ferrying 33,000 ordinary people into the lake’s depths.
    Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 2 July 2026
  • The gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement to the 35-year-old planes that had previously ferried him as president.
    Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Verb
  • In his first bout at 170 pounds, Makhachev cruised to a decision win over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November 2025, easily wresting the UFC welterweight crown from Della Maddalena.
    Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • Zebby Matthews cruised through the first four frames, allowing just one run.
    Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 4 July 2026
Verb
  • The usual carousel of famous people making the podcast rounds — Kamala Harris on Call Her Daddy, Tyrese on Joe Budden, the endless stream of tiny heads floating in front of screenshots of articles — is interrupted by something startlingly familiar.
    Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 29 June 2026
  • The nucleus disassembles, letting these crucial genetic instructions float free in the cell’s soupy interior.
    Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 29 June 2026
Verb
  • Clear sunscreen sticks glide across the skin without leaving the chalky white cast that mineral formulas can create, and their solid texture means less dripping or rubbing than a lotion.
    Lauren Jarvis-Gibson July 2, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026
  • The kit allows the bomb to glide 60 to 80 kilometers following the release from aircraft such as the Su-34, Su-35, and Su-30.
    Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Sail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sail. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.

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