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

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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
Soon, Repkon’s flow-forming machines were sailing across the Atlantic, heading eventually for Mesquite. — Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026 For one thing, sailing on one means sailing on a piece of Indonesian history. — Annie Daly, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
Noun
In the event a group sail doesn't fill, Brooklyn Sail may reach out 24 to 48 hours in advance to reschedule or cancel with a full refund. — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Aug. 2026 The painting included a billowing sail from the distressed ship against a backdrop of the stable ground of shore. — Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 31 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
  • Gusty winds just over 20 mph could make boating less than ideal.
    — Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Calls range from people accidentally slipping into the river and overturned kayaks to boating emergencies and people intentionally entering the water.
    — Darius Johnson, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of boat
Verb
  • According to regulators, the investments all flowed through Spaventa.
    — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Using the streams as indicators of the groundwater flowing beneath them, Campbell is building a model to identify the best potential sites in Idaho for a subsurface dam.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of flow
Verb
  • In addition, jobless claims have hovered around 200,000 a week, and the number of job openings has been rising over the past six months, Slok pointed out.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • No one will string the words together and actually say it out loud, but as former players and Campbell tap-dance around the uncomfortable question about what’s changed, the message hovering between the lines is not difficult to read.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of hover
Noun
  • On his fourth voyage, Zheng met representatives from Malindi (modern-day Kenya).
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Shipping data showed the ship was loaded with Russian crude prior to the voyage.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of voyage
Verb
  • He’s now being ferried around the Ankara airport in a food service vehicle to a third aircraft, leaving the crew and other administration personnel to leave on a plane that was presumably under threat.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Researchers have long known that the vagus nerve serves as an information highway, ferrying signals between the brain stem and the rest of the body.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of ferry
Verb
  • The New York Yankees ace cruised through 16 outs before the Jays got a bounce.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026
  • An erotic thriller that captures the dying charm of Thailand’s stand-alone cinemas which also serve as cruising sites for closeted gay men.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of cruise
Verb
  • The custom floating hot tub can seat up to six people and moves at a cool 3 miles per hour through the calm waters north of Logan Airport.
    — Brandon Truitt, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • In that test, the first-stage booster returned to a floating platform about six minutes after ⁠the separation of its first and upper stage, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
    — Sylvie Zhuang, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of float
Verb
  • At showtime, video screens surrounding the stage began to glide upwards, revealing two familiar silhouettes, complete with dual doublenecks, shrouded by thick clouds of smoke.
    — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026
  • This monitor has a borderless display on three sides to prevent distractions, and it's equipped with a zippy 75Hz refresh rate so all your operations glide easily across the screen.
    — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of glide

Phrases Containing sail

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said uncle
sail
sailboat
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Cite this Entry

“Sail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sail. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on sail

Nglish: Translation of sail for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sail

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