Definition

1. Noun:
   • A wind-powered vessel: A sailing ship is a type of watercraft that uses sails to harness the wind for propulsion.
   • A multi-masted vessel: Historically, the term often describes larger, ocean-going vessels with multiple masts and a full rig of sails.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • The museum displayed a model of a 19th-century sailing ship.
  • Before steam engines, trade across the oceans was conducted by sailing ship.
  • They embarked on a voyage aboard a tall sailing ship.

Advanced Usage

• The term sailing ship is often used to distinguish traditional wind-powered vessels from modern motorized ships.
  • The era of the great sailing ship gave way to the age of steam.

Variants and Related Words

• Sailing vessel: A more general synonym for any boat powered by sails.
• Tall ship: A modern term for a large, traditionally-rigged sailing ship, often used for training or as a museum ship.
• Windjammer: A colloquial term for a large merchant sailing ship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Synonyms

• Wind-powered vessel
• Sailboat (though this typically implies a smaller craft)
• Bark or Barque (a specific type of sailing ship with three or more masts)

Related Phrases and Idioms

• "Shipshape and Bristol fashion": An idiom meaning in good order, originating from the meticulous maintenance required on a sailing ship. While not containing the target words, it is idiomatically connected to the era of sailing ships.
  • After cleaning, the garage was shipshape and Bristol fashion.

Noun

1. a vessel that is powered by the wind; often having several masts