What does windage mean?
Windage is a chiefly technical noun with several related meanings. Its best-known sense is the sideways drift or leeway experienced by a ship or other vessel because of wind. It can also mean an allowance or correction for wind’s effect, especially when aiming a firearm, where a shot may need to be adjusted for a crosswind. In meteorological or navigational contexts, the term may describe the difference between a wind instrument’s indicated reading and the actual wind direction or strength. Windage is therefore not simply “wind” itself; it refers to the effect of wind, the movement it produces, or the compensation required for it. The word is uncommon in everyday conversation but useful in discussions of sailing, navigation, shooting, and instruments. Its specialized character gives it a precise, technical tone rather than a poetic or familiar one.
nounWindage is the sideways drift or leeway of a vessel caused by wind. In technical contexts, it can also refer to an allowance for the effect of wind, especially when adjusting a firearm sight, or to the discrepancy between an indicated and an actual wind reading.
- The sideways drift or leeway of a vessel caused by wind.
- An allowance or correction made for the effect of wind, especially on a projectile.
- The difference between an indicated wind reading and the actual wind direction or strength.
"The navigator corrected the plan for windage before the boat crossed the exposed channel."
"The navigator corrected the plan for windage before the boat crossed the exposed channel."
"The rifleman made a small windage correction as the crosswind pushed the bullet toward the right."
The plural is grammatically standard but uncommon because windage is usually used in technical contexts as a mass or singular noun.
"The manual lists different windages for a range of crosswind conditions."
Windage is the hidden travel that wind adds to a journey—and the extra care sailors and marksmen must account for.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of windage
Windage is an English compound formed from wind and the suffix -age. The suffix -age commonly forms nouns denoting an action, process, condition, or resulting quantity, and here it expresses the effect or allowance of wind. The word developed in English in technical contexts involving movement through air and later measurement and gunnery, while related forms such as windy, windward, and windfall belong to the same wind- family.
How windage is actually used
Windage is primarily a technical term associated with sailing, navigation, meteorology, and shooting. In general writing, it is uncommon and may sound specialized or formal.