To reduce the area of sail exposed to the wind The portion of sail taken in, as in "we took in a reef when the wind rose" Small lines called reef points are used to tie up a potion of the sail in a bundle to reduce its area
He must take in a reef or so He must reduce his expenses; he must retrench A reef is that part of a sail which is between two rows of eyelet-holes The object of these eyelet-holes is to reduce the sail reef by reef as it is required
1) To partially lower a sail so that it is not as large This helps prevent too much sail from being in use when the wind gets stronger 2) A line of rock and coral near the surface of the water
a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water reduce (a sail) by taking in a reef roll up (a portion of a sail) in order to reduce its area lower and bring partially inboard; "reef the sailboat's mast
A reef is a long line of rocks or sand, the top of which is just above or just below the surface of the sea. An unspoilt coral reef encloses the bay. a line of sharp rocks, often made of coral, or a raised area of sand near the surface of the sea (rif). reef in to tie up part of a sail in order to make it smaller. Capitol Reef National Park coral reef Great Barrier Reef
1 To reduce the sail area by partly lowering the sail and securing the surplus material to the boom; 2 A ridge of rock or coral lying at, near, or beneath the surface of the water
Related Topics: [wetlands] Reefs are ridges or mound formed through the growth and accumulation of sedentary invertebrates They may be classified as either wetland or deepwater habitats and will periodically give rise to lush aquatic beds and occasionally mangrove forests For the most part reefs are restricted to waters at tropical and subtropical latitudes - consequently nearly all U S wetlands are limited to the waters around the Hawaiian Islands and the Florida coast
1) "A part of the sail that can be taken in, rolled up and secured by reef-points " (Uden & Cooper) 2) To lower or lift that part of the sail part way and then secure it as described This is used to decrease the amount of sail that the wind affects 3) The line attached to the side of some square sails that hauls up the side part way to aid in reefing and/or furling
{i} ridge of coral or rock located near the surface of the sea; part of a sail that can be adjusted in order to control the sail area that is exposed to the wind