Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Nautical, with the ends pointing upward.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb Hanging at the cathead, ready to let go, as an anchor.
  • adverb Topped up; having one yardarm higher than the other.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb nautical Hanging at the cathead, ready to let go, as an anchor.
  • adverb nautical Topped up; having one yardarm higher than the other.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Prefix a- + cock + bill: with bills cocked up.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word acockbill.

Examples

    Sorry, no example sentences found.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "Martin himself supervised them, and also ordered the sails set in counterpoise to each other, so that the ship would be as perfectly still as possible. Then he called out, "Top gallant yards, acock bill," an order that sent men scurrying up the rigging."

    A Burial at Sea by Charles Finch, p 95

    January 4, 2012