Reef

(noun.) one of several strips across a sail that can be taken in or rolled up to lessen the area of the sail that is exposed to the wind.

(noun.) a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water.

(verb.) reduce (a sail) by taking in a reef.

(verb.) roll up (a portion of a sail) in order to reduce its area.

(verb.) lower and bring partially inboard; 'reef the sailboat's mast'.

手打:温迪

• A reef of rocks, black and rough, stretches far into the sea. 夏洛蒂·勃朗特. 雪莉.
• It reefs its sail when a storm threatens or the wind blows pretty hard, and furls it entirely and goes down when a gale blows. 马克·吐温. 傻子出国记.
• It is commonly found in reefs or veins among quartz, and in alluvial deposits; it is separated, in the former case, by quarrying, crushing, washing and treatment with mercury. 佚名. 神奇的知识之书.
• It was on the principle of the gradual subsidence (and elevation) of the bed of the Pacific Ocean that Darwin accounted for the formation of coral reefs. 李贝. 西洋科学史.
• Right enough, as long as we're in the open sea, retorted Martin gloomily, but Lord help us if we touch any of them darned reefs. 弗格斯·休姆. 奇幻岛.
• We reefed the fore-sail and set him, and hauled aft the fore-sheet; the helm was hard a-weather. 乔纳森·斯威夫特. 格列佛游记.

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