regatta

[ ri-gat-uh, -gah-tuh ]

noun

1. a boat race, as of rowboats, yachts, or other vessels.
2. an organized series of such races.
3. (originally) a gondola race in Venice.
4. a strong, striped cotton fabric that is of twill weave.

regatta

/ rɪˈɡætə /

noun

1. an organized series of races of yachts, rowing boats, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of regatta¹

1645–55; < Upper Italian ( Venetian ) regatta, regata, perhaps ≪ Vulgar Latin *recaptāre to contend, equivalent to *re- re- + *captāre to try to seize; catch

Word History and Origins

Origin of regatta¹

C17: from obsolete Italian (Venetian dialect) rigatta contest, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Lost Bay is a one day, single race regatta for mono-hull sailboats of at least twenty feet with both spinnaker and non-spinnaker divisions.

From Salon

"It's the America's Cup and so it takes clever thinking to be successful. I would look to Team New Zealand's success in 2017 - they were the outlier then and they won the regatta," Hutchinson says.

From BBC

The space of about half an hour could play a huge role in deciding if this Olympic regatta is a GB return to form.

From BBC

A hot-air balloon regatta due to take place over London on Sunday 21 July has been postponed once again due to poor weather conditions.

From BBC

The Huskies won it at every championship regatta but once from 2007-2021, but did not win it the past two years.

From Seattle Times