How to Use gunwale in a Sentence

gunwale

noun
Definition of gunwalenext
  • Drill and screw the snap studs onto the inboard side of the gunwale.
    — Ryan Chelius, Field & Stream, 18 Feb. 2021
  • The winch on the power block strains to pull it up over the gunwale and to the hopper, where the fish are dumped for gutting.
    — Matthew Bremner, Slate Magazine, 24 July 2017
  • From there, the motor hoists them up over the gunwale and onto the deck, where William ties them down.
    — Matthew Bremner, Slate Magazine, 24 July 2017
  • From the video, the kid looks like a 70-pound halibut sliding over the gunwale of a trawler’s slippery deck.
    — Patrick May, The Mercury News, 30 May 2017
  • Well over a million pounds of salmon have crossed her gunwales.
    — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 7 July 2018
  • Part of it had landed squarely behind the boat’s bow, pressing a section of gunwale flat to the keel.
    — Popular Mechanics, 13 Oct. 2018
  • As the car came down, four men guided it toward the I beams laid across the gunwales, securing the wheels with wooden blocks, like a truck parked on a hill.
    — Rowan Moore Gerety, Harper's magazine, 10 June 2019
  • Some boats can’t be fitted with rod holder mounts that fit flush against a gunwale or transom.
    — The Editors, Field & Stream, 26 Feb. 2020
  • The deadrise was sitting upright, so Thomas Reed vaulted its gunwales and walked up its deck to the cabin.
    — Earl Swift, Outside Online, 20 June 2018
  • The rusting bow and the remnants of its gunwales protrude above the surface, forming a beacon for divers and snorkelers.
    — Joshua Hammer, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2017
  • Sixty-foot-tall spruce trees groaned and shuddered as the boat's gunwales slowly shouldered them aside.
    — Author: Rick Sinnott, Alaska Dispatch News, 26 Aug. 2017
  • Other changes include a thicker polyurethane insole and a shin guard along the front of the boot for those grueling hours leaning over the gunwales.
    — Melissa Devaughn, Anchorage Daily News, 31 Mar. 2018
  • But if the cormorants are being hunted, what explains the presence on each boat of an unperturbed bird perched on the gunwale?
    — Washington Post, 23 June 2021
  • Scared to put weight on the thin plywood hull, the men arranged themselves in a ring atop the gunwales, balancing skinny bodies with plump ones.
    — Matthew Wolfe, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019
  • For example, mark a pole, leader and float, or the gunwale of the boat with measurements for the legal retention size.
    — Saryn Chorney, PEOPLE.com, 21 May 2018
  • The man in short sleeves bent over the Lazora’s starboard gunwale and vomited red fluid.
    — New York Times, 28 Jan. 2021
  • The weight of that many passengers caused rising waves to lap at the tops of the gunwale — the lone protector against catastrophic swamping.
    — Bryce Miller Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2021
  • Gaze over the gunwales and listen: There’s an egret rookery out on Indian Island.
    — Robert Earle Howells, SFChronicle.com, 5 July 2018
  • Selwood spraing up on the gunwale at the bow of the boat to avoid the thrashing shark and steadied himself by clinging to the tubular metal frame of the sun shelter, known as a bimini.
    — Rod McGuirk, The Seattle Times, 29 May 2017
  • Smith suggested that anglers mark the 20-inch fork length size limit for dolphin on the boat’s gunwale with tape or a pencil and use a landing net for small fish.
    — Steve Waters, Sun-Sentinel.com, 4 July 2017
  • At this point another boat glided by, its gunwales lined with tourists staring into the cameras.
    — Christopher Borrelli, chicagotribune.com, 2 Oct. 2019
  • Each model features sleek lines, sculpted gunwales around the bow and glazing that runs from hull to superstructure.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 15 Feb. 2023
  • The first: The boat had a glass transom and open gunwales to both port and starboard that made the cockpit feel larger than its actual physical dimensions.
    — Kevin Koenig, Robb Report, 21 Mar. 2023
  • The trip started slowly but quickly ramped up, with a variety of species -- including redfish, speckled trout, marsh bass and more -- coming over the gunwale.
    — Todd Masson, NOLA.com, 24 Apr. 2018
  • Meanwhile, as The Texas Observer tells us, the legislature is jammed to the gunwales with dangerous fanatics from all corners of the wild kingdom.
    — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 6 July 2017
  • The upper arm extends diagonally across your body as though delivering a cross-punch and finishes on the outside of the gunwale (top edge of the canoe).
    — Michael Stillwell, Popular Mechanics, 27 Mar. 2023
  • The upmarket tester boasted a lovely interior loaded to the gunwales with standard gear.
    — Al Haas, Philly.com, 12 July 2018
  • On a recent visit, shipwright Matteo Tamassia, whose gondolas can take a month or more to construct, discussed an improvement to the gunwale with a fellow boat-maker who dropped by.
    — Avedis Hadjian, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2021
  • One time a woman fell out of her boat and clung desperately to the transom, then swung a single leg up and hooked it on the gunwale, then stayed that way, trailing behind the boat like an uncoordinated sea monster trying to crawl aboard.
    — Christopher Borrelli, chicagotribune.com, 5 June 2017
  • Ryan dutifully and patiently followed me with the landing net, waiting for an opportunity to hoist our tournament winner over the gunwale.
    — Todd Masson, NOLA.com, 10 May 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gunwale.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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