What does demast mean?
Demast is a specialized nautical verb meaning to remove the mast or masts from a ship. It carries two closely related uses: an active sense, in which people deliberately take down a vessel's spars — often to fit through a low bridge, to reduce windage in heavy weather, or to lay the boat up for winter — and a passive sense, in which the ship itself is said to have been demasted when a storm, collision, or structural failure carries away its masts. In practice the word appears most frequently in that damaged form: survivors' accounts and maritime histories speak of ships left 'demasted and adrift,' an image that conveys both physical devastation and helplessness at sea. Because it belongs chiefly to the vocabulary of sailing and naval writing, demast rarely surfaces in everyday conversation, but it remains current among sailors, marine insurers, and writers of sea fiction, where its precision and evocative force make it the natural choice over any paraphrase.
verbTo remove the mast or masts from a ship or other vessel; of a ship, to have its mast or masts broken off or carried away by wind, collision, or other damage.
- To remove the mast or masts from a vessel.
- (Of a vessel) to have its mast or masts carried away by storm, collision, or other mishap.
"The storm demasted the schooner, leaving it adrift for three days before rescue."
"The crew demasted the yacht before hauling it ashore for the winter."
"Heavy seas demasted the fishing trawler just outside the harbour."
When sailors say a ship was 'demasted,' they mean the sea literally tore its spine out.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of demast
Demast is formed transparently from the prefix de-, indicating removal, combined with mast, the noun for a ship's upright spar, which entered English from Old English and related Germanic sources. The compound follows a productive English pattern of de- plus noun verbs (compare dethrone and defrock). It arose in maritime usage, with attestations from around the seventeenth century onward as oceanic sailing made storm-damaged rigs a common subject of report, and its derivatives demasted and demasting share the same formation.
Related word forms
How demast is actually used
A technical nautical term, used almost exclusively in maritime contexts — sailing accounts, naval history, and insurance or salvage reporting. It appears most often in the passive or past-participle form ('a demasted vessel'), which typically implies storm damage rather than deliberate removal.
Easily confused with demast
"Demise" means death or the end of something, while "demast" is a nautical verb meaning to strip or lose the masts of a ship.