SAILS Synonyms: 68 Similar and Opposite Words

sails 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of sail

as in boats

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

as in flows

to move or proceed smoothly and readily sailed through the latest assignment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in floats

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

sails

2 of 2

noun

plural of sail

as in voyages

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 sails

Verb

Some of my favorites are coming back too, like El Pulpo Magnifico, Duane Flatmo's fire-breathing octopus, and the Monaco, a 40-foot ship with three masts that sails across dust instead of water. — Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 Better yet, take a coastal cruise with Cape Ann Harbor Tours, which sails past six regional lighthouses. — Nicholas Derenzo, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2026 Nelson’s mind quickly sails from cold floor-pragmatics to high theory. — Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026 The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded to the boat that sails non-stop fastest around the world. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 24 July 2026 Star of the Seas still sails out of Port Canaveral, housing guests on what is tied for the title of world’s largest cruise ship. — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 June 2026 As the ship sails the Antarctic Peninsula, passengers go on excursions, such as taking a Zodiac or kayaking, to view wildlife and immerse themselves in nature. — Kathleen Wong, USA Today, 16 June 2026 Odysseus sails closer to Scylla on the advice of Circe, who had identified Charybdis as more dangerous. — Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 June 2026 The moment Gabriel sails the penalty kick over the net – and PSG turns nerves into jubilation. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 30 May 2026

Noun

There was that billowing and entirely formal satisfaction of sails filled with wind. — John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026 Vista Fleet’s Coffee and Colors Sunrise Cruise sails along the shoreline of Duluth, Minnesota’s Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area. — Kristine Hansen, Travel + Leisure, 3 Sep. 2026 Continue reading … ZERO OPPOSITION — Original 'Squad' member sails to renomination with no Republican to stop her. — FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026 Sailors respond to a new forecast by trimming the sails, and companies should read the $234 billion the same way. — Rob Green, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026 Not Netflix‘s The Whisper Man, though, which doesn’t need the extra time and sails by in under two hours as a movie in a pulsating pace that keeps us engaged and guessing from beginning to end. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2026 Boy and In a Violent Nature take the wind out of that movie’s sails? — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026 To keep the arrays from catching the wind like sails, engineers mount the solar panels at much flatter tilt angles than those used in typical ground installations. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026 Designed for media company IAC, the 10-story building was shaped to evoke the billowing sails of a ship. — Maya Chawla, Architectural Digest, 19 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sails

Verb

Down at the lake, boats just off the shore slowed to listen while swimmers took in the music from floaties.

— Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 18 July 2026
Shrimp boats bob in the harbor, American flags flutter from pastel porches and old oak trees draped in Spanish moss offer cool shade.

— Noreen Kompanik, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025

Definition of boats

Verb

And that overall sense of purpose flows from a production unusually well-protected by the women who truly understand this fictional world’s appeal.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 8 Sep. 2026
The organizations that will move fastest in 2027 will be the ones redesigning how work flows across people, processes, governance and enterprise systems.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of flows

Verb

Boaters of all backgrounds will wade into the world of watercraft this weekend as the Orlando Boat Show floats into Central Florida.

— Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2026
Lil Uzi Vert floats in and out of the beat, allowing the rhythm to do much of the work and creating a record that feels almost impossible to experience sitting still.

— Brittney Williams, Billboard, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of floats

Verb

The blockage of the strait, which normally ferries 20% of the world's oil, sent global energy prices soaring.

— Kevin Breuninger,Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026
Iran has effectively halted trade traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, the maritime trade route that ferries roughly 20% of the world’s petroleum.

— Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 9 Mar. 2026

Definition of ferries

Verb

There’s optimism Kansas could have an underrated defense, TCU cruises to a relative easy 30-plus points.

— Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026
Traveling such vast distances between our solar system's most remote objects means New Horizons often cruises for months at a time with little to do other than passively collect data.

— Brett Tingley, Space.com, 8 July 2026