# spinnaker

Pronunciation: US say "SPIN-uh-kur" /ˈspɪnəkɚ/; UK say "SPIN-uh-kuh" /ˈspɪnəkə/

## Noun

1. A sail used in addition to the mainsail, often triangular, flown on a yacht when sailing with the wind behind it.
   - Simple: A large, balloon-like sail at the front of a boat, used to catch wind coming from behind.
   - _As the breeze shifted astern, the skipper ordered the spinnaker hoisted._
   - _Racing yachts often carry several spinnakers for different wind conditions._

## Verb

2. To sail a yacht using a spinnaker, the supplemental sail flown when running before the wind.
   - Simple: To sail a boat using a large sail that catches the wind from behind.
   - _Experienced sailors spinnaker the downwind legs to pick up extra speed._
   - _She spinnakers toward the finish line whenever the wind sits squarely behind her._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/spinnaker (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).