ratline

or rat·lin

[ rat-lin ]

nounNautical.
  1. any of the small ropes or lines that traverse the shrouds horizontally and serve as steps for going aloft.

  2. Also ratline stuff . three-stranded, right-laid, tarred hemp stuff of from 6 to 24 threads, used for ratlines, lashings, etc.

Origin of ratline

1
First recorded in 1475–85; earlier ratling, radelyng< ?

Dictionary.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. Henty
  • It 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. Delany
  • The lads sprang up the ratlines with the men, for they took their share of duty aloft.

  • Despite 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 Churchill
  • The mate had clambered halfway up the main ratlines, and was looking earnestly to windward.

British Dictionary definitions for ratline

ratline

ratlin

/ (ˈrætlɪn) /


noun
  1. nautical any of a series of light lines tied across the shrouds of a sailing vessel for climbing aloft

Origin of ratline

1
C15: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012