gunwale
noun
gun·wale
| \ ˈgə-nᵊl
\
\
variants:
or less commonly gunnel
Definition of gunwale
: the upper edge of a ship's or boat's side
to the gunwales
: as fully as possible
The doorbell rang, and Flanagan let in his wife, who was loaded to the gunwales with groceries.— Whitney Balliett
Examples of gunwale in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Scared to put weight on the thin plywood hull, the men arranged themselves in a ring atop the gunwales, balancing skinny bodies with plump ones. — Matthew Wolfe, Harper's magazine, "Without a Trace," 10 Feb. 2019 As the car came down, four men guided it toward the I beams laid across the gunwales, securing the wheels with wooden blocks, like a truck parked on a hill. — Rowan Moore Gerety, Harper's magazine, "Downstream," 10 June 2019 Well over a million pounds of salmon have crossed her gunwales. — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, "At Bristol Bay, there’s a changing of the guard at the boatyard," 7 July 2018 Part of it had landed squarely behind the boat’s bow, pressing a section of gunwale flat to the keel. — Popular Mechanics, "When Storms Fell the Trees, Father and Son Make the Most of the Mess," 13 Oct. 2018 The upmarket tester boasted a lovely interior loaded to the gunwales with standard gear. — Al Haas, Philly.com, "Refreshed for 2019, Buick Envision is roomy, comfortable, and quiet," 12 July 2018 Gaze over the gunwales and listen: There’s an egret rookery out on Indian Island. — Robert Earle Howells, SFChronicle.com, "Insider: A sea captain’s guide to Eureka," 5 July 2018 The deadrise was sitting upright, so Thomas Reed vaulted its gunwales and walked up its deck to the cabin. — Earl Swift, Outside Online, "The Incredible True Story of the Henrietta C.," 20 June 2018 Each canoe is handcrafted: Resin layers are brushed on, rivets are attached individually around the gunwales. — Michael Stilwell, Popular Mechanics, "Made in the USA: One Awesome Thing Built in Each State," 29 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gunwale.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for gunwale
gunwale
noun
English Language Learners Definition of gunwale
: the upper edge of a ship's or boat's side
See the full definition for gunwale in the English Language Learners Dictionary
gunwale
noun
gun·wale
| \ ˈgə-nᵊl
\
\
Kids Definition of gunwale
: the upper edge of a ship's side