to luff
1
9.9
To turn a boat or sail toward the wind so the sail flaps and loses speed
- verb
- /lʌf/
- Specialized
:
luff
- The wind shifts and the sail starts to luff.
- luff the sails
Examples
-
When the boat began to turn into the wind, the captain ordered everyone to luff the sails.
-
Luff the sails and lay her in iron.
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Don't raise sail, you're going to luff it.
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Luff the sail!
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Helmsman, luff a point.
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To maintain speed, the crew had to luff the sails as the wind changed direction.
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The captain yelled for the sailors to luff, allowing the flapping sails to signal a change in course.
Antonyms
How Windward
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word luff comes from the Dutch loef, 'toward the wind'. So to luff is to turn the boat toward the wind and let the sails flap, which makes them lose power.