crowd sail

verb

To carry an unusual amount of sail in an attempt to accelerate the speed of a vessel.

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Meanings

verbcrowd sail (third-person singular simple present crowds sail, present participle crowding sail, simple past and past participle crowded sail)

present singular third person crowds sail · participle present crowding sail · participle past crowded sail · past crowded sail

  1. datedidiomaticnauticalTo carry an unusual amount of sail in an attempt to accelerate the speed of a vessel.

    the Spaniards busied themselves in making the most of a sudden favourable change of wind, and, without much regard to order, were crowding sail to get near the land.

    1827, William James, The Naval History of Great Britain […]
Cite this entry
APA

crowd sail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crowd%20sail

MLA

“crowd sail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crowd%20sail. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crowd sail,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crowd%20sail.

Source: crowd sail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.