reef
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reef¹
- /ɹiːf/
Rhymes with -iːf
Where it comes from
From earlier riff, from Middle English rif, from Old Norse rif (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Germanic *ribją (“rib, reef”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rebʰ- (“arch, ceiling, cover”). Dutch rif (“reef”), Low German riff, reff (“reef”), German Riff (“reef, ledge”) are also borrowed from Old Norse. Doublet of rib.
noun reefs · riff
- A chain or range of rocks, sand, or coral lying at or near the surface of the water.
- A large vein of auriferous quartz; hence, any body of rock yielding valuable ore.
reef²
- /ɹiːf/
Rhymes with -iːf
Where it comes from
From Middle English reef, from Old Norse rif, Middle Dutch rif, rēve, and/or Middle Low German ref. Possibly a figurative use of the word for “rib” in etymology 1 above, in which case all forms must, again, be borrowings from Old Norse. Alternatively it may be a different word related to Old English rift (“curtain, veil”), ārāfian (“to uncoil, wind off”).
noun reefs
- A portion of a sail rolled and tied down to lessen the area exposed in a high wind. They sailed as if they were stark mad; they never took in a reef in the sail, and when the seas filled the boat, they sailed her up on the back of a wave till she stood nearly on end, the water rushing out over her stern as out of a spout.
- A reef knot.
verb reefs · reefing · reefed
- To take in part of a sail in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind. "When the day arrived that the boy was to be skipper, the weather was calm and fine, but he called all men to reef sails, so the ship had scarcely any sail on her."
- To pull or yank strongly, especially in relation to horse riding. And when the Cup came on he stirred them up ′round the barrier and he flew out of the barrier and he pulled and reefed and pulled and reefed and Lewis didn′t let him settle down until about three furlongs from home and when he did settle the horse was all out of stride and he went back through the f
- To move the floats of a paddle wheel toward its center so that they will not dip so deeply. Reef the paddles.
- To manipulate the lining of a person's pocket in order to steal the contents unnoticed. This was done by "reefing." He put two fingers just inside the opening and lifted the lining a trifle. Although I watched his hands, I could feel nothing, so gently did his fingers work. Reefing a couple of times, he lifted my handkerchief, as he might have taken out anything else.
reef³
- /ɹiːf/
Rhymes with -iːf
Where it comes from
From Middle English ref, hreof, from Old English hrēof (“rough, scabby, leprous", also "a leper”), from Proto-Germanic *hreubaz (“rough, scabby, scrubby”), from Proto-Indo-European *kreup- (“scab, crust”), related to Old English hrēofla (“leprosy, leper”). Cognate with Scots reif (“a skin disease leaving crusts on the skin, the scab”), Old High German riob (“leprous, scabby, mangy”), Icelandic hrjúfur (“scabby, rough”). Compare riffe, dandruff.
adjective reefer · more reef · reefest · most reef · reif · rief
- Scabby; scurvy.
noun reefs · reif · rief
- The itch; any eruptive skin disorder.
- Dandruff.
Reef⁴
Where it comes from
Borrowed from North German Reef, possibly related to Reep (“rope”), or otherwise from obsolete rif (“body”) (from Proto-West Germanic *hrif).
proper noun Reefs
- A surname from German.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: countryside, rural, fringing, etc, create, reeve, coral, cree, atoll, tackles, shoal, sandbar, sandbank, bar, bank, ridge
Translations
Every language
noun rocks at or near surface of the water
| Español | arrecife |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 암초 amcho, 초 cho |
| 日本語 | 礁 shō, 暗礁 anshō |
| 中文 | 礁 jiāo, 暗礁 ànjiāo |
| Português | recife, arrecife, restinga |
| Français | écueil, récif |
| Deutsch | Riff, Felsenriff |
| Italiano | scogliera, barriera |
| Ελληνικά | ύφαλος ýfalos, ξέρα xéra, ξέρη xéri, σκόπελος skópelos |
| Română | recif |
| Русский | риф rif |
| Tiếng Việt | đá ngầm, ám tiêu |
| العربية | شَعَاب šaʕāb |
| עברית | שׁוּנִית |
noun arrangement to reduce the area of a sail
| 日本語 | 縮帆 shukuho |
|---|---|
| Français | ris |
| Italiano | terzarolo |
| Русский | риф rif |
verb sailing
| Español | tomar rizos |
|---|---|
| Français | prendre un ris, arriser |
| Deutsch | reffen |
| Italiano | terzarolare |
Talk about this word "reef." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/reef. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. reef. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/reef "reef." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/reef.Cite this
@misc{reef_2026,
title = {reef},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/reef},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
