fill away

English

Verb

fill away (third-person singular simple present fills away, present participle filling away, simple past and past participle filled away)

  1. (nautical) Let the wind fill the sails of a sailing ship and start sailing.
    • 1840, R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., “CHAPTER XXXV”, in Two Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], →OCLC:
      It was just dinner-time when we filled away; and the steward, taking a few bunches of onions for the cabin, gave the rest to us, with a bottle of vinegar.
    • 1868, Oliver Optic, Breaking Away: Or, The Fortunes of a Student, page 286:
      "It appears that you have used the boat without authority, and permitted her to be taken from you by a parcel of boys. I will see you at my house this evening. You may fill away, Ernest , if you are ready."
    • 2020, Charles D. White, Handbook of Sailing, page 162:
      Using this as a snubbing line allows your boat to drift clear of the others and fill away.
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