Definition of luff in English:



  • The edge of a fore-and-aft sail next to the mast or stay.

    • ‘Nonchalant references to booms and jibs and kites and cleats and luffs and lees and heeling and tacking and pointing high can leave the nautical ingénue helpless in a riptide of argot.’


  • 1Steer (a sailing vessel) nearer the wind to the point at which the sails just begin to flap.

    ‘I came aft and luffed her for the open sea’
    • ‘If it's a sailboat, luff it up into the wind and drift to a complete stop, then allow it to sail backwards - a boat-length is long enough to appease the spirits.’
    1. 1.1 Obstruct (an opponent in yacht racing) by sailing closer to the wind.


Middle English: from Old French lof, probably from Low German.