(n.) A vessel having one mast and fore-and-aft rig, consisting of a boom-and-gaff mainsail, jibs, staysail, and gaff topsail. The typical sloop has a fixed bowsprit, topmast, and standing rigging, while those of a cutter are capable of being readily shifted. The sloop usually carries a centerboard, and depends for stability upon breadth of beam rather than depth of keel. The two types have rapidly approximated since 1880. One radical distinction is that a slop may carry a centerboard. See Cutter, and Illustration in Appendix.
Example Sentences:
(1) In Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina has a populist president who is doing what all populists do: seeking an issue to divert public attention from her government's real problems, which are more to do with inflation and bondholders than anything a British brig-sloop did 180 years ago.
(2) The overwhelming majority of ships that go from Libya to Italy are wooden fishing sloops or inflatable dinghies.
(3) TV montage music for the season's highlights Sloop John B – the Beach Boys.