reefy
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
Related to reefy: reify
reef 1
(rēf)n.
1. A strip or ridge of rocks, sand, or coral that rises to or near the surface of a body of water.
2. A vein of ore.
3. Chiefly Western US A long craggy ridge or rocky escarpment.
[Obsolete Dutch rif, possibly from Old Norse, ridge.]
reef′y adj.
reef 2
(rēf) Nauticaln.
A portion of a sail gathered in and secured to lessen the area exposed to the wind.
tr.v. reefed, reef·ing, reefs
1. To reduce the size of (a sail) by gathering in a part and securing it, as by lashing it to a yard.
2. To shorten (a topmast or bowsprit) by taking part of it in.
[Partly from Middle English rif (from Old Norse rif, from rīfa, to rive) and partly from Dutch and Low German reef (Low German, from Dutch), back-formation from Dutch reven, pl. of rif, reef (of a sail), from or akin to Old Norse rif.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
reefy
(ˈriːfɪ)adj, reefier or reefiest
(Physical Geography) with, full of, or having reefs
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Adj. | 1. | reefy - full of submerged reefs or sandbanks or shoals; "reefy shallows"; "shoaly waters" shallow - lacking physical depth; having little spatial extension downward or inward from an outer surface or backward or outward from a center; "shallow water"; "a shallow dish"; "a shallow cut"; "a shallow closet"; "established a shallow beachhead"; "hit the ball to shallow left field" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.