Definition of "sail" []

• Nautical A piece of fabric sewn together and fitted to the spars and rigging of a vessel so as to convert the force of the wind into forward motion of the vessel. (noun)
• Nautical The sails of a ship or boat. (noun)
• Nautical The superstructure of a submarine. (noun)
• Nautical A sailing vessel. (noun)
• Nautical A trip or voyage in a sailing craft. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""Then," said Mr. Hall, "I should think, on the whole, that, in such a place as this, where there are so many regular sail boats, and where excursions on the lake in them are so common and so well recognized as a distinct amusement, the phrase _taking a sail_ ought to be held to mean going in a sail boat, and that making a voyage in a steamer would not be fulfilling the promise.""
• ""Then the sky narrowed at the edges and he began screaming at a panicky squire, "Back sail, _back sail_!""
• "Aboard ship, Dana discovers that to sail is to tread the line between life and death."