ratline
or rat·lin
any of the small ropes or lines that traverse the shrouds horizontally and serve as steps for going aloft.
Also ratline stuff . three-stranded, right-laid, tarred hemp stuff of from 6 to 24 threads, used for ratlines, lashings, etc.
Origin of ratline
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use ratline in a sentence
On board every ship men were running up the ratlines to see if a view of the scene of action could be obtained from aloft.
A Roving Commission | G. A. HentyIt had come so suddenly that not a sail had been raised, and now the remaining men were swarming to the ratlines.
The Jewels of Aptor | Samuel R. DelanyThe lads sprang up the ratlines with the men, for they took their share of duty aloft.
A Chapter of Adventures | G. A. HentyDespite my warning a brace essayed to climb the ratlines, as pitiable an attempt as ever I witnessed, and fell to the deck again.
Richard Carvel, Complete | Winston ChurchillThe mate had clambered halfway up the main ratlines, and was looking earnestly to windward.
The Crusade of the Excelsior | Bret Harte
British Dictionary definitions for ratline
ratlin
/ (ˈrætlɪn) /
nautical any of a series of light lines tied across the shrouds of a sailing vessel for climbing aloft
Origin of ratline
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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