“Sails” or “Sales”—Which to use?

“Sails” or “Sales”

Overview

sails / sales are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

sails: (noun) a large piece of fabric (usually canvas fabric) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel. (noun) any structure that resembles a sail. (verb) traverse or travel on (a body of water). (verb) travel on water propelled by wind.

sales: NA

Pronunciation

sails: s·EY·l·z

sales: s·EY·l·z

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Examples in Context

Examples of “sails”

…with enough force that it sails dozens of feet over the
…possible, the frigate furled her sails until 1130.
…captain ordered to keep the sails safe by all means; however,…
…of the crew members sewn sails.
…the American ships spotted three sails to the eastward; two tacking…
Heavier sailors require larger sails, and smaller sails are more…
…the Neva went under all sails to the Cape of Good…
"Red Sails in the Sunset" (Hugh Williams,…
…to leave the bay under sails, while Nadezhda squeezed to the…
…exertion," the wrecked masts and sails could not be cleared away.

Examples of “sales”

…due to unlawful foreign arms sales by the U.S. State Department…
Sales and certifications
Total reported sales: 9,502
It generated revenue from sales of fraudulent certificates and books.
…interrelation, including engineering, design, marketing, sales, distribution, credit, finance, human resources…
Certifications and sales
…1992 after reports of arms sales to Iraq in the 1980s…
…manufacturing which primarily uses a sales plan and forecast to determine…
…developers, this resulted in low sales in the first year of…
…withdrew its request for stock sales, explaining that "[the company] has…

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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