sail

verb

/seɪl/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they sail	/seɪl/ /seɪl/
he / she / it sails	/seɪlz/ /seɪlz/
past simple sailed	/seɪld/ /seɪld/
past participle sailed	/seɪld/ /seɪld/
-ing form sailing	/ˈseɪlɪŋ/ /ˈseɪlɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

jump to other results

[intransitive, transitive] (of a boat or ship or the people on it) to travel on water using sails or an engine
- + adv./prep. to sail into harbour
- The dinghy sailed smoothly across the lake.
- The ferry sails from Newhaven to Dieppe.
- one of the first people to sail around the world
- The flotilla will sail north to Hawaii.
- sail something to sail the Atlantic
- In his young days he had sailed the seas.
Homophones sail | sale
sail sale
/seɪl/

/seɪl/
- sail verb
  Thor managed to sail his raft across the Pacific Ocean.
- sail noun
  Far out I could see a yacht with a white sail.
- sale noun
  She will receive the profits from the sale of her property.
Extra Examples
- The boat sailed serenely on towards the horizon.
- We sailed on a large ocean liner.
- We were sailing from Dover to Calais.
Topics Transport by watera2, Sports: water sportsa2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- gracefully
- serenely
- smoothly
- …
verb + sail
- know how to
- learn to
- teach somebody to
- …
preposition
- across
- around
- round
- …
See full entry
(also go sailing)
[intransitive, transitive] to control or travel on a boat with a sail, especially as a sport
- We spent the weekend sailing off the south coast.
- Do you go sailing often?
- the first woman to sail solo around the world
- sail something She sails her own yacht.
- He managed to sail the boat between the rocks.
Extra Examples
- I learned to sail as a child.
- We sailed the boat out into the middle of the lake.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- gracefully
- serenely
- smoothly
- …
verb + sail
- know how to
- learn to
- teach somebody to
- …
preposition
- across
- around
- round
- …
See full entry
[intransitive] (of a boat or ship or the people in it) to begin a journey on water
- We sail at 2 p.m. tomorrow.
- sail for something He sailed for the West Indies from Portsmouth.
- The ferry sails for Southampton at 5.30.
Topics Transport by watera2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- gracefully
- serenely
- smoothly
- …
verb + sail
- know how to
- learn to
- teach somebody to
- …
preposition
- across
- around
- round
- …
See full entry
[intransitive] + adv./prep. to move quickly and smoothly in a particular direction; (of people) to move in a confident manner
- clouds sailing across the sky
- The ball sailed over the goalie's head.
- She sailed past, ignoring me completely.
- An owl sailed silently out of the branches.

Word OriginOld English segel (noun), seglian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeil and German Segel (nouns).

Idioms

sail close to the wind

to take a risk by doing something that is dangerous or that may be illegalTopics Dangerc2

sail

noun

/seɪl/

Idioms

jump to other results

[countable, uncountable] a sheet of strong cloth which the wind blows against to make a boat or ship travel through the water
- As the boat moved down the river the wind began to fill the sails.
- under sail a ship under sail (= using sails)
- in the days of sail (= when ships all used sails)
- She moved away like a ship in full sail (= with all its sails spread out).
- The vessel can be propelled by oars or sail (= sails).
Homophones sail | sale
sail sale
/seɪl/

/seɪl/
- sail verb
  Thor managed to sail his raft across the Pacific Ocean.
- sail noun
  Far out I could see a yacht with a white sail.
- sale noun
  She will receive the profits from the sale of her property.
Extra Examples
- The bay was full of boats with billowing sails.
- The boat is preserved as a monument to the days of sail.
- The sails caught the wind once more and they were on their way.
- The white canvas sail hung limply against the mast.
- The ship came in under sail and anchored near us.
Topics Transport by waterb1, Sports: water sportsb1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- main
- canvas
verb + sail
- hoist
- raise
- rig
- …
sail + verb
- billow
- flap
- flutter
- …
sail + noun
- boat
phrases
- the days of sail
- in full sail
- under full sail
- …
See full entry
[singular] a trip in a boat or ship
- We went for a sail.
- a two-hour sail across the bay
- He took us for a sail up the river.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- main
- canvas
verb + sail
- hoist
- raise
- rig
- …
sail + verb
- billow
- flap
- flutter
- …
sail + noun
- boat
phrases
- the days of sail
- in full sail
- under full sail
- …
See full entry
[countable] a set of boards attached to the arm of a windmill

Word OriginOld English segel (noun), seglian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeil and German Segel (nouns).

Idioms

set sail (from/for…)

(formal) to begin a trip by sea
- a liner setting sail from New York
- We set sail (for France) at high tide.

take the wind out of somebody’s sails

(informal) to make somebody suddenly less confident or angry, especially when you do or say something that they do not expect
- When I agreed to his suggestion at once, it really took the wind out of his sails.

trim your sails

to arrange the sails of a boat to suit the wind so that the boat moves fasterTopics Transport by waterc2
to reduce your costs