setting sail

VERB

get started on trip

Synonyms

WEAK

dive in go ahead set out start out

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The international flotilla of some 100 boats, mostly setting sail from Barcelona on April 12, will head towards Gaza around April 20, according to the organisers.

From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026

Ships he controlled via a network of shell companies were setting sail with millions of barrels of unsold oil.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

According to Welsh legend, Prince Madoc is believed to have discovered America in 1170 after setting sail from north Wales, over 300 years before Christopher Columbus arrived.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

Which is how I found myself setting sail one fine November morning alone, save for 600-odd silver-haired strangers.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2025

One of Galileo’s opponents, Lodovico delle Colombe, complained in 1610/11 that Galileo behaved like someone setting sail on the ocean, heading out past the Pillars of Hercules and crying, ‘Plus ultra!’

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton