| Sloop (n.) A vessel having one mast and fore-and-aft rig, consisting of a boom-and-gaff mainsail, jibs, staysail, and gaff topsail. The typical sloop has a fixed bowsprit, topmast, and standing rigging, while those of a cutter are capable of being readily shifted. The sloop usually carries a centerboard, and depends for stability upon breadth of beam rather than depth of keel. The two types have rapidly approximated since 1880. One radical distinction is that a slop may carry a centerboard. Thesaurus Entries bark, bawley, bilander, brig, brigantine, bully, buss, caravel, cat, catamaran, clipper, corsair, corvette, cutter, dandy, dhow, dromond, fishing smack, flattie, four-masted bark, four-master, frigate, galiot, galleass, hooker, hoy, ice yacht, junk, keelboat, ketch, knockabout, lateen, lateener, lorcha, lugger, nobby, ocean racer, outrigger, pilot boat, pinnace, piragua, pirogue, pram, pungy, racing yacht, rigger, sailing auxiliary, sailing canoe, sailing dinghy, sailing packet, sailing trawler, sampan, sandbagger, schooner, scooter, shallop, sharpie, shipentine, skipjack, sloop, smack, smack boat, snow, tartan, topsail schooner, trimaran, well smack, whaler, wool-clipper, xebec, yacht, yawl |