to dismast

1 9.9

To lose a ship's mast because of damage or an accident

verb
/dɪsˈmæst/

Specialized

: desmastar

The strong winds dismasted the yacht, leaving it adrift in the ocean.

Examples

After hitting the submerged rock, the ship dismasted and began to take on water.
my ship was dismasting my last engagement

Lloyd's of London (1936)
Moby dick has dismasted me once again.

2010: Moby Dick (2010)
At 1945 hrs (French time), on Thursday, November 15th, Samantha Davies contacted the race office of the Vendee Globe to report that her boat had dismasted.

Blog text (9)
On Thursday, November 15th at 1945 hrs (French time), Samantha Davies reported her dismasting to the race office of the Vendée Globe and her team.

Blog text (9)
Samantha Davies dismasted her boat in the middle of the storm during the race.

Surface Forms

dismast infinitive

dismasted past

dismasted past participle

dismasting present participle

dismasts third person singular

Morphology

dismast = mast (semi-transparent) = dis + mast

The meaning 'remove the mast from' is fairly inferable from 'dis-' plus 'mast', but this privative use of 'dis-' with a noun base is not the most familiar pattern for many learners.

Etymology

Dismast is made of the first part dis- meaning 'remove' and mast meaning 'the tall pole that holds a ship's sails'. So, to dismast is to lose or have that pole broken or taken away, usually because of damage or a storm.