becalm

English

Etymology

From be- +‎ calm.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /bɪˈkɑːm/

Verb

becalm (third-person singular simple present becalms, present participle becalming, simple past and past participle becalmed)

1. (transitive) To make calm or still; make quiet; calm.
2. (transitive, nautical) To deprive (a ship) of wind, so that it cannot move (usually in passive).
   • 2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin 2012, p. 214:

     In the following two days, they made fast progress, strong easterly winds driving them down the Channel to where it opened out into the Atlantic; there, they were briefly becalmed.

Anagrams

• malbec