yacht

Everyday

1. A boat with sails, used for racing or for pleasure. tree →
2. A large, expensive motor boat or ship, often owned by a very rich person, used for holidays or parties. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life and sport, yachts race in regattas, and people go yachting or sailing for fun. In the news, rich people's huge "superyachts" are sometimes in the headlines. In science lessons on forces, a sailing yacht is pushed by the wind on its sails. Phrases: "go yachting", "a yacht race", "a luxury yacht".

Examples

• We watched the yachts racing across the bay. tree →
• My uncle has a small yacht and takes us sailing in summer. tree →
• The film star arrived on a huge luxury yacht. tree →
• The wind filled the yacht's white sails. tree →
• The Sydney to Hobart yacht race starts on Boxing Day. tree →
• Yachts lined the harbour in Auckland, the "City of Sails". tree →
• Off sailed the yacht with the princess and her escort. tree →

Note

Countable: a yacht, yachts. Tricky spelling and sound: it is pronounced "yot" (rhymes with "hot"); the "ch" is silent. The word comes from Dutch. A person who sails a yacht is a yachtsman or yachtswoman, or simply a sailor.