- sail
- sail1 [ seıl ] verb **1. ) intransitive or transitive if a boat sails, it moves across the surface of an ocean, lake, river, etc.:The yacht sailed into harbor.The boat was never designed to sail such rough seas.a ) intransitive to travel somewhere by boat or ship:Sail to Greece aboard the SS Monterey.b ) intransitive to begin a trip by boat or ship:We sail for Guadalajara tomorrow morning.c ) intransitive or transitive to control the movement of a boat or ship, especially one that uses the wind to move it:It's a great opportunity to learn to sail.They spent their vacation sailing the Caribbean (=sailing a boat around the Caribbean).2. ) intransitive to move quickly and easily:He sailed past us without even saying a word.The bill sailed through the Senate on a 269 to 5 vote.The ball sailed over his head and into the goal.`sail ,through phrasal verb transitivesail through something to do something or deal with something very easily:She sailed through the first interview.sailsail 2 [ seıl ] noun count *a large piece of strong cloth attached to a tall pole on a boat, used for catching wind to move the boat across waterset sailto begin a trip across water:The ship set sail Wednesday.under sailtraveling in a boat or ship that is using a sail
Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.