sail

S2 W2

BrE /seɪl/ AmE /seɪl/

verb / noun en → es

past sailed pp sailed ing sailing

1 TRAVEL BY BOAT [intransitive] B1

to travel on water in a boat or ship, especially for pleasure or sport

navegar, hacer una travesía en barco

  • sail across the sea/ocean

Collocations sail around the world · sail to a destination

  • They sailed from England to Australia.

    Navegaron desde Inglaterra hasta Australia.

2 CONTROL BOAT [transitive] B1

to control a boat or ship while it is moving on water

dirigir, manejar (un barco)

  • sail a boat

Collocations sail a yacht · sail a dinghy

  • She sailed the yacht across the bay.

    Ella manejó la yate a través de la bahía.

3 SET SAIL [intransitive] B1

to start a journey by boat or ship, especially for pleasure or sport

embarcar, partir en un viaje marítimo

  • set sail from somewhere

Collocations set sail from a port · set sail for a destination

  • The ship set sail at dawn.

    El barco partió al amanecer.

1 BOAT [noun] B1

a small boat with a flat bottom and wide sides, used for sailing on rivers or lakes

barcaza, bote de vela

Phrasal verbs

sail away LEAVE B2

irse (en barco)

  • The ship sailed away into the distance.

    El barco se alejó en el horizonte.

sail back RETURN B2

volver (en barco)

  • They sailed back to their home port.

    Regresaron a su puerto de origen.

sail off LEAVE QUICKLY B2

irse (de prisa en barco)

  • The pirates sailed off into the sunset.

    Los piratas se fueron al atardecer.

sail on CONTINUE TRAVELING B2

continuar navegando

  • They sailed on for another week.

    Continuaron su viaje durante otra semana.

sail out EXIT PORT B2

salir del puerto (en barco)

  • The ship sailed out of the harbor.

    El barco salió del puerto.

Idioms

sail close to the wind C1

navegar cerca de la costa (arriesgarse)

  • He's sailing too close to the wind by ignoring safety regulations.

    Está arriesgándose al ignorar las regulaciones de seguridad.

sail under false colors C1

navegar con banderas falsas (engañar)

  • The company is sailing under false colors by claiming to be environmentally friendly when it's not.

    La empresa está engañando a la gente al afirmar ser amigable con el medio ambiente cuando no lo es.