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DictionarysloopSingle-masted sailboat
noun

sloop

SLOOP/sluːp/

A sailboat with one mast and sails rigged along the boat’s length.

The sloop has one mast, a mainsail, and a jib.

An isolated side view of a sloop showing its single mast, triangular mainsail aft of the mast, and triangular jib forward of it, with both sails rigged along the boat’s length.
Etymology
sloopDutchsloop

Dutch sloep already named this kind of sailing vessel, and English retained the boat sense for a one-masted, fore-and-aft-rigged craft. The Dutch word’s deeper origin is uncertain.

In context

Best Documentary17:15
Leeboards have been used for centuries in flat-bottomed boats such as this Dutch Sloop, seen in the Harlingen to Terschelling race.
From 9/11's Ashes: The Ship Buried Beneath the World Trade Center

More examples

  • We rent a small sloop for an afternoon of sailing.
  • Two sloops race across the bay.
  • She lowers the sloop's sails before starting its motor.

Forms

sloop · sloops

sailboat noun — A boat powered mainly by sails.

Similar words

cutter
Usually carries two headsails rather than a sloop's single headsail.
schooner
Has two or more masts rather than just one.