Dictionary

unrig en · VERB

Etymology

From un- + rig.

Meanings

1. (intransitive, transitive) To remove the rigging from (a vessel, etc.).
   • No, I have brought nothing but Ballaſt back,—made a delicious Voyage, Setter; and might have rode at Anchor in the Port till this time, but the Enemy ſurpriz'd us.— I vvou'd unrig. 1693, Will[iam] Congreve, The Old Batchelour, a Comedy. […], London: […] Peter Buck, […], →OCLC, Act V, scene i, page 43:
   • Some climbed the masts to unrig her, others rushed into the hold to get out the cargo, and numbers hurried to the cabin to carry off the lighter articles which it contained. 1859, W[illiam] H[enry] G[iles] Kingston, chapter 22, in Old Jack:
   • TRIPPING-LINE. A small rope serving to unrig the lower top-gallant yard-arm of its lift and brace, when in the act of sending it down on deck. 1867, William Henry Smyth, The Sailor's Word-Book:
   • [I]n bathing costumes they unrigged the boat, put away the sails, and got her up to her resting place upon the dry sand of the beach. 1957, Neville Shute, chapter 3, in On the Beach, New York: William Morrow & Co:
2. (transitive) To disable.
3. (obsolete, slang) To undress (someone).

Forms