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

a rocky region in the southern Transvaal in northeastern South Africa

a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water

verb

reduce (a sail) by taking in a reef

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

lower and bring partially inboard

Synonyms for reef

shoaln sandbarn atolln sandbankn shallowsadj cayn breakwatern

Synonyms & related words for reef

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of reef — including shoal, sandbar, atoll, sandbank, shallows, cay. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to reef

Explore words related to reef — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include reefy, reefable, hermatypic, coral, coralliferous, coralline, corallaceous, coralliform. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for reef

Common synonyms for reef include shoal, sandbar, atoll, sandbank, shallows, cay, breakwater — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.