Word.ws English Dictionary

trimming one's sails

trimming one's sails is the present participle and gerund of trim one's sails.

Meaning of trim one's sails

Verb

trim one's sails (third-person singular simple present trims one's sails, present participle trimming one's sails, simple past and past participle trimmed one's sails)

  1. To adjust a ship's sails to make the best of wind conditions.
    Synonyms:
    shorten sail
  2. (broadly, figuratively) To adapt to changing circumstances, especially if it involves scaling back one's ambitions; to make cutbacks.

Questions about trimming one's sails

What is trimming one's sails the present participle and gerund of?
Trimming one's sails is the present participle and gerund of trim one's sails.

Words near trimming one's sails in the dictionary

  1. trimmigrant
  2. trimmigrants
  3. trimmin'
  4. trimming
  5. trimming down to size
  6. trimming one's sails
  7. trimming up
  8. trimmingly
  9. trimmings
  10. Trimms
  11. trimnasium

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: trimming one's sails (page history and authors); trim one's sails (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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