gybe

  1. Verb.  (nautical) To change tack with the wind crossing behind the boat. (Mostly used of boats and other small sailing craft — the corresponding manoeuver in a sailing ship is to wear.).
  2. Verb.  (nautical) To shift a fore-and-aft sail suddenly and forcefully from one side to the other, while sailing before the wind. (also jibe.).
  3. Verb.  To sneer (see gibe.).
  4. Verb.  ''gybe at'': to hesitate, vacillate, or balk when faced with a proposal, plan, or course of action. (''Obsolete'').
  5. Noun.  The act of gybing.
  6. Noun.  A sudden shift of a sail's angle, or a sudden change in the direction that a boat is sailing.
  7. Noun.  A sudden change in direction or approach; vacillation.
  8. Noun.  A sneer. (see gibe.).

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.