What does luffing mean?
Luffing is a nautical term with two closely related meanings. It can describe a boat or crew sailing as close to the wind as the craft and conditions allow, with the sails appropriately trimmed. More specifically, a sail is luffing when it has swung into the wind and begun to shake or flutter, indicating that it is no longer working effectively. The word is especially familiar in sailing instructions, nautical reporting, and descriptions of sailing manoeuvres. Although “luffing” is sometimes used broadly to mean flapping or shaking, its established context is sailing, where it identifies a specific relationship between a sail, the wind, and the vessel’s direction of travel.
verbTo sail a boat with the bow close to the wind, or to move a sail into the wind so that it shakes or flutters. In the latter sense, the sail is said to be luffing.
- To sail close to the wind, with the sail trimmed as near the wind as possible.
- To move a sail into the wind so that it shakes or flutters because the airflow over it has become ineffective.
"The sailors luffed the boat as they approached the narrow channel."
"The catamaran began luffing as the wind shifted ahead of the vessel."
"We reduced sail after the main was seen luffing in the stronger gusts."
A sail that begins to luff is sending a warning: it has swung too close to the wind and may shake itself powerless.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does luffing come from?
The word belongs to the English nautical vocabulary inherited through Middle English, where forms of “luff” were used for sailing close to the wind and for a sail that shook in that position. The precise ultimate origin of the word is uncertain, with etymological accounts differing on its relationship to Old Norse and other northern European languages. In English, it developed into the modern form and remained strongly associated with seamanship.
Related word forms
How luffing is actually used
This is primarily nautical terminology. The sense of sailing close to the wind is used of a vessel or its crew; the sense involving a shaking sail is also common in sailing instructions and descriptions of wind or sail behaviour.