"reefs" in the noun sense
1. reef
a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water
2. Witwatersrand, Rand, Reef
a rocky region in the southern Transvaal in northeastern South Africa contains rich gold deposits and coal and manganese
3. reef
one of several strips across a sail that can be taken in or rolled up to lessen the area of the sail that is exposed to the wind
"reefs" in the verb sense
1. reef
lower and bring partially inboard
"reef the sailboat's mast"
2. reef
roll up (a portion of a sail) in order to reduce its area
3. reef
reduce (a sail) by taking in a reef
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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