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
Austria was looking to attack more and brought on Sasa Kalajdzic, who responded quickly with a header that sailed over the crossbar. — Iliana Limón Romero, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 Gwinnett was an English clergymen’s son who sailed for the colonies in 1762 and opened a general store in Savannah in 1765. — Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 30 June 2026
Noun
With their billowing sails, teakwood decks and mazes of ropes and rigging, ships like Eagle draw throngs of visitors hoping to get a glimpse of the past. — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 1 July 2026 The uncertainty is leaving many shipping company owners waiting to see a sustained period of incident-free crossings before allowing their vessels to set sail again. — Eleni Giokos, CNN Money, 27 June 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
  • As a result, the department is urging the public to review water and boating safety guidance.
    — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 29 June 2026
  • Lily had an active life of golfing, skiing, and boating with her family.
    — Melanie Thernstrom, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
Definition of boat
Verb
  • Rainfall — as little as a tenth of an inch, according to the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, or ALCOSAN — can cause an overflow of stormwater and raw sewage to flow into the rivers.
    — Finch Walker, USA Today, 5 July 2026
  • Through the morning, a river of mourners dressed in black flowed from the Grand Mosalla.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Definition of flow
Verb
  • Dark clouds hovered around the stadium just before kickoff, threatening to delay the start of the game, but Mother Nature apparently is a soccer fan, because the storm veered away.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 4 July 2026
  • Temperatures in the beach cities pleasantly hovered in the 70s, a stark contrast to East Coast communities broiling in a heat wave.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of hover
Noun
  • That night, Valencia, the vessel’s captain, set out with a crew of nine from Jaramijó, Ecuador, for what was expected to be a typical three-week voyage, casting lines for shark, marlin, and tuna.
    — Will Freeman, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
  • The fair's conferences were held at the Art Institute, and on the current site of La Rabida Hospital was a recreation of the La Rabida convent in Spain, where Columbus plotted his voyages.
    — Suzanne Le Mignot, CBS News, 27 June 2026
Definition of voyage
Verb
  • With a capacity of 45 passengers, the mésoscaphe, a submarine for shallow to mid-range depths, made more than a thousand dives that summer, ferrying 33,000 ordinary people into the lake’s depths.
    — Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 2 July 2026
  • The gift from the Middle Eastern power raised ethical concerns, but Trump saw the plane as a necessary replacement to the 35-year-old planes that had previously ferried him as president.
    — Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of ferry
Verb
  • In his first bout at 170 pounds, Makhachev cruised to a decision win over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November 2025, easily wresting the UFC welterweight crown from Della Maddalena.
    — Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • Zebby Matthews cruised through the first four frames, allowing just one run.
    — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 4 July 2026
Definition of cruise
Verb
  • By tying ticket access to listening behavior rather than open on-sales or presale codes floating on secondary marketplaces, Spotify is testing whether platform data can succeed where CAPTCHAs and queue systems have struggled.
    — Lauren Schuster, Sacbee.com, 6 July 2026
  • Monitor Temperature and Water Quality A floating pool thermometer—available for around $10—tells you if your pond is getting too hot.
    — Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 July 2026
Definition of float
Verb
  • Clear sunscreen sticks glide across the skin without leaving the chalky white cast that mineral formulas can create, and their solid texture means less dripping or rubbing than a lotion.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson July 2, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026
  • The kit allows the bomb to glide 60 to 80 kilometers following the release from aircraft such as the Su-34, Su-35, and Su-30.
    — Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 1 July 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 7 Jul. 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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