Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to outsail

to outsail

1 8.1
Sail faster or better than another boat
  • verb
  • /ˌaʊtˈseɪl/
: navegar más rápido que
  • She practiced every weekend to outsail the fastest boat in the club.

Examples

  • The experienced sailor was able to outsail his competitors during the regatta.

  • She already outsails one of the fastest warships.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • In a surprising turn of events, the small fishing boat managed to outsail the luxury yacht.

Synonyms

to outrace
vsto outsail
2 4.2

To move or run faster than someone in a race

applies specifically to boats and includes skill as well as speed
to outdistance
vsto outsail
2 6.7

Get much farther ahead of other people in a race or competition

emphasizes gaining distance rather than speed or skill

How Fast

to outsail
1 8.1
race
∞ 1.0
to sail
299 1.0
to drift
265 2.9

Surface Forms

outsail infinitive
outsailed past
outsailed past participle
outsailing present participle
outsails third person singular

Morphology

outsail = sail (transparent) = out + sail

The productive prefix 'out-' meaning 'to surpass' attached to the verb 'sail' yields the predictable meaning 'to sail better or faster than someone'.

Etymology

Outsail comes from out- ('more than') and sail, so it is like 'outrun' but for boats. That is why to outsail someone is to sail faster or more skillfully than them.