clew up
C1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
To pull the bottom corners of a sail up so it can be folded away.
Literal meaning: To haul the clew (lower corner) of a sail upward.
Meanings
1 C1 neutral
(nautical) To haul the lower corners of a square sail up to the yard in preparation for furling.
"As the wind picked up dangerously, the boatswain ordered the crew to clew up the topsails."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Exclusively a nautical or sailing term. Historically important in square-rigged ship operations. 'Clewing up' is the first step before furling a sail. Very rare in modern everyday language.
Commonly used with
sail mainsail topsail yard lines rigging
Forms
Base
clew up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
clews up
he/she/it
Past simple
clewed up
yesterday
Past participle
clewed up
have + pp
-ing form
clewing up
continuous
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