mainsail
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of mainsail
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; main 1, sail
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If New Zealander Dean Barker doesn’t return, Paul Goodison of Britain, the mainsail trimmer in 2021, could take the helm.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 7, 2022
As the mainsail swung across the boat, the mainsheet system caught Fisher and knocked him off the boat, the team said.
From Washington Times • Mar. 28, 2018
When we shortened the mainsail, I failed to recognize the tack — a grommet at the corner of the sail — for the first reef.
From Washington Post • Mar. 22, 2018
They have built four stationary cycling stations into each hull to tap leg power instead of traditional arm power from the grinders to power the hydraulic systems that control the wing mainsail and the daggerboards.
From New York Times • Jun. 18, 2017
An American flag the size of a mainsail unfurled from the tallest flagpole in the Court of Honor, and immediately two more like-sized flags tumbled from flanking poles, one representing Spain, the other Columbus.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
