Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun reef
3 senses of reef
Sense 1
reef -- (a submerged ridge of rock or coral near the surface of the water)
=> ridge -- (a long narrow natural elevation or striation)
Sense 2
Witwatersrand, Rand, Reef -- (a rocky region in the southern Transvaal in northeastern South Africa; contains rich gold deposits and coal and manganese)
INSTANCE OF=> region, part -- (the extended spatial location of something; "the farming regions of France"; "religions in all parts of the world"; "regions of outer space")
Sense 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)
=> strip, slip -- (artifact consisting of a narrow flat piece of material)
Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb reef
3 senses of reef
Sense 1
reef -- (lower and bring partially inboard; "reef the sailboat's mast")
=> lower, take down, let down, get down, bring down -- (move something or somebody to a lower position; "take down the vase from the shelf")
Sense 2
reef -- (roll up (a portion of a sail) in order to reduce its area)
=> roll up, furl -- (form into a cylinder by rolling; "Roll up the cloth")
Sense 3
reef -- (reduce (a sail) by taking in a reef)
=> shrink, reduce -- (reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?")