LUFF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does luff mean? 

• LUFF (noun)
  The noun LUFF has 2 senses:

1. (nautical) the forward edge of a fore-and-aft sail that is next to the mast

2. the act of sailing close to the wind

  Familiarity information: LUFF used as a noun is rare.

• LUFF (verb)
  The verb LUFF has 2 senses:

1. sail close to the wind

2. flap when the wind is blowing equally on both sides

  Familiarity information: LUFF used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LUFF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(nautical) the forward edge of a fore-and-aft sail that is next to the mast

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("luff" is a kind of...):

edge (the outside limit of an object or area or surface; a place farthest away from the center of something)

Domain category:

navigation; sailing; seafaring (the work of a sailor)

Holonyms ("luff" is a part of...):

fore-and-aft sail (any sail not set on a yard and whose normal position is in a fore-and-aft direction)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of sailing close to the wind

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("luff" is a kind of...):

sailing (riding in a sailboat)

Derivation:

luff (flap when the wind is blowing equally on both sides)

luff (sail close to the wind)

• LUFF (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they luff    ... he / she / it luffs   
Past simple: luffed   
Past participle: luffed   
-ing form: luffing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sail close to the wind

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

luff; point

Hypernyms (to "luff" is one way to...):

sail (travel on water propelled by wind)

Domain category:

navigation; pilotage; piloting (the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

luff (the act of sailing close to the wind)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Flap when the wind is blowing equally on both sides

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

the sails luffed

Hypernyms (to "luff" is one way to...):

flap; roll; undulate; wave (move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

luff (the act of sailing close to the wind)

 Context examples 

But he luffed the boat less delicately, spilling the wind shamelessly from the sail so as to prolong the tack to the north shore.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

She was an apt pupil, and soon learned to keep the course, to luff in the puffs and to cast off the sheet in an emergency.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

So he issued his commands, which I breathlessly obeyed, till, all of a sudden, he cried, “Now, my hearty, luff!”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Time and again and countless times we watched the boat luff into the big whitecaps, lose headway, and be flung back like a cork.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Just then a sort of brightness fell upon me in the barrel, and looking up, I found the moon had risen and was silvering the mizzen-top and shining white on the luff of the fore-sail; and almost at the same time the voice of the lookout shouted, Land ho!

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

A puff of wind was heeling the boat over till the deck was awash, and he, one hand on tiller and the other on main-sheet, was luffing slightly, at the same time peering ahead to make out the near-lying north shore.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The man at the helm was watching the luff of the sail and whistling away gently to himself, and that was the only sound excepting the swish of the sea against the bows and around the sides of the ship.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

When Dick returned, one after another of the trio took the pannikin and drank—one To luck, another with a Here's to old Flint, and Silver himself saying, in a kind of song, Here's to ourselves, and hold your luff, plenty of prizes and plenty of duff.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)