🇯🇵Japanese Source WordCode: JA

Native Script:日本語

Pronunciation / Transliteration: shō

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Reef/riːf/
nounverbCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #8500 frequency
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🇯🇵 Example Sentence in Japanese:

"船がサンゴ礁に乗り上げた。"

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A ridge of jagged rock, coral, or sand just above or below the surface of the sea.

    "The ship struck a hidden coral reef and suffered severe damage to its hull."
As verb
  1. 1

    To roll or fold up a portion of a sail to reduce its surface area in strong winds.

    "The captain ordered the crew to reef the mainsail as the storm approached."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from Old Norse 'rif', meaning a rib, ridge, or reef, which entered Middle English via maritime trade and northern dialects. Originally referring to a narrow ridge of rocks, shingle, or coral near or at the surface of the water, it later developed a separate nautical verb sense relating to rolling up a portion of a sail to reduce its area.

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