yard
1
9.1
- noun
- /jɑrd/
- Specialized
- The ship's yard was essential for maximizing the wind's power to move through the water.
- sails on yards
- top yard
- main yard
Examples
-
There was one mast with a square sail, hanging from a yard no wider than the boat.
Fiction book (1991) -
They dropped anchor and lowered the yard, drawing the sail to one side.
Fiction book (1990) -
Her masts and lateen yards were of very fine wood, and sails of cotton had the same appearance as our ships.
Academic text (2002) -
"Quickly he barked out orders and the great slanting yard was lowered and the sail bound tightly to it."
Fiction book (1990) -
The sailor climbed up to the yard to adjust the sails during the storm.
-
She watched as the crew lowered the sail from the yard as they entered the harbor.
Compounds
- US
65
3.4
A marked line on a football field showing how many yards the ball is from the nearest goal line
- US
4
2.6
A measure of space equal to a cube one yard on each side, used for soil or gravel
- UK
1
3.8
A place with many train tracks where train engines and cars are kept and fixed
1
6.0
A historic navy shipyard in Boston where the warship Constitution is anchored
- Specialized
1
9.9
A long horizontal pole high on a sailing ship that holds the sail above the topsail
- Archaic
1
9.9
A long horizontal pole high on a sailing ship mast that holds the highest sail
- Specialized
A long horizontal pole high on a sailing ship that holds the topgallant sail
How Long
Surface Forms
Etymology
Yard for the long pole on a ship comes from the same old word for a 'rod' or stick, so a ship's yard is literally a big stick fixed to the mast to hold the sail. That's why sailors call that horizontal pole a yard.