REEF • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Reef

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noun

Reef n.

A chain or range of rocks lying at or near the surface of the water. See Coral reefs, under Coral.

(Mining.) A large vein of auriferous quartz; so called in Australia. Hence, any body of rock yielding valuable ore.

Reef builder (Zool.), any stony coral which contributes material to the formation of coral reefs.

Reef heron (Zool.), any heron of the genus Demigretta; as, the blue reef heron (Demigretta jugularis) of Australia.

Reef n. (Naut.) That part of a sail which is taken in or let out by means of the reef points, in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind. Note: From the head to the first reef-band, in square sails, is termed the first reef; from this to the next is the second reef; and so on. In fore-and-aft sails, which reef on the foot, the first reef is the lowest part.

Close reef, the last reef that can be put in.

Reef band. See Reef-band in the Vocabulary.

Reef knot, the knot which is used in tying reef pointss.

Reef line, a small rope formerly used to reef the courses by being passed spirally round the yard and through the holes of the reef.

Reef points, pieces of small rope passing through the eyelet holes of a reef-band, and used reefing the sail.

Reef tackle, a tackle by which the reef cringles, or rings, of a sail are hauled up to the yard for reefing.

To take a reef in, to reduce the size of (a sail) by folding or rolling up a reef, and lashing it to the spar.

verb

Reef v. t. (past & past part. reefed; pres. part. reefing) (Naut.) To reduce the extent of (as a sail) by rolling or folding a certain portion of it and making it fast to the yard or spar.

To reef the paddles, to move the floats of a paddle wheel toward its center so that they will not dip so deeply.

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Etymology of 'Reef'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Reef" Quotes from Famous Books

... banks. A few moments' tough pulling brought me through, and, once outside Deer Island, nothing lay between me and Nahant. The well-known beach and the sandy headland called "Grover" stood out at the edge of Lynn Bay, and the rise and fall of the white surf, too distant to be heard, marked the long reef stretching seaward. After dining, and allowing the boat to drift while rearranging my provisions, I took my place, and, getting the proper bearings astern, bent ...

— Atlantic Monthly, Volume 8, No. 48, October, 1861 • Various

... had thought in his inmost heart. So 'every one of us shall give an account of himself to God'; and like a man in the bankruptcy court, we shall have to explain our books, and go into all our transactions. We are working in the dark today. Our work will be seen as it is, in the light. The coral reef rises in the ocean, and the creatures that made it do not see it. The ocean will be drained away, and the reef will ...

— Expositions Of Holy Scripture - Volume I: St. Luke, Chaps. I to XII • Alexander Maclaren

... of the cocoa-nut tree, and enable them to see the fish, which they take with hand-nets. It is by these lights that the fish are attracted, but not so in the opinion of the natives, who say, "they come to the reef at night to eat, then sleep, and leave again in ...

— The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 579 - Volume 20, No. 579, December 8, 1832 • Various

... course lay is now dotted with mining-fields and townships, and fertile spaces of tilled tropical plantations. The coast-line rich in harbours is the busy haunt of steamers, and the narrow waterway between the mainland and the great barrier reef the home of many lightships. But when Kennedy and his party made their pioneer journey, the great desolation of the wilderness beset them on every side from the land, whilst the sea ...

— The Explorers of Australia and their Life-work • Ernest Favenc

... easy to run upon the reef, but to get off was another matter, especially with a falling tide. The motor churned the water, but at first seemed to make no impression. Even when all the boys went aft, so as to lighten the ...

— The Outdoor Chums on the Gulf • Captain Quincy Allen

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