Schooner Meaning
/skuːnə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA sailing ship with two or more masts, all with fore-and-aft sails; if two masted, having a foremast and a mainmast.
nounA glass for drinking a large measure of sherry.
Sentence Examples
That is a schooner.
I haven't seen a schooner before.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The tall ____ gracefully sailed across the ocean with its white sails.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tall-masted ____ sailed gracefully into the harbor as the sun began to set.
Word Origin & History
Attested ca. 1715, of uncertain origin. Said to be derived from dialectal scoon (“to skim over water”). Compare also shunt (“to cause to move (suddenly)”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land."
— 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 6, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
"Designed by Frank Payne's renowned Boston design office, and built in 1928 of longleaf yellow pine, this 82-footer has been a racing schooner — a staysail schooner — since the heyday of Class-A ocean racing in schooners during the late 1920s and early 1930s."
— 2004, Reese Palley, The Best of Nautical Quarterly: Volume 1: The Lure of Sail, page 181:
"In addition to the square-rigged sailing ships, the schooners were the second largest group of large sailing vessels."
— 2005, Otmar Schäuffelen, Chapman: Great Sailing Ships of the World, page xxi:
"Unfortunately, anyone looking for a schooner today has limited choices. In the used boat market there are always some wooden hulls available, and occasionally ones of steel or aluminum, but fiberglass-hulled schooners are harder to come by."
— 2007, Donald Launer, Lessons from My Good Old Boat, page 240:
"Boycott any pub that bans work clothes, allows customers to reserve tables or only sells beer in schooners. That is less a pub, more a private members’ club."
— 2018 June 6, Tony Naylor, “The new rules of pub etiquette: don't flirt with bar staff or steal the glasses”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The tall ____ gracefully sailed across the ocean with its white sails.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The tall-masted ____ sailed gracefully into the harbor as the sun began to set.