Meanings
noundownhaul (plural downhauls)
plural downhauls
- nauticalAny rope used to haul down a sail or spar.
The only sail that is wholly ours is the spanker. They control absolutely--sheets, halyards, clewlines, buntlines, braces, and down-hauls--every sail on the fore and main. We control the braces on the mizzen, although they control the canvas on the mizzen.
1914, Jack London, The Mutiny of the Elsinore, Chapter XLVI
Origin
Translations
Finnish neerhaalari, alasvetäjä
- neerhaalarirope used to haul down sail or spar
- alasvetäjärope used to haul down sail or spar
Italian alabbasso
- alabbassorope used to haul down sail or spar
Cite this entry
APA
downhaul. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/downhaul
MLA
“downhaul.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/downhaul. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “downhaul,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/downhaul.
Source: downhaul on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.