A surname from German.

Scabby; scurvy.

(nautical) A portion of a sail rolled and tied down to lessen the area exposed in a high wind. / A reef knot.

(Now chiefly dialectal) The itch; any eruptive skin disorder. / (Now chiefly dialectal) Dandruff.

A chain or range of rocks, sand, or coral lying at or near the surface of the water. / (Australia, South Africa) A large vein of auriferous quartz; hence, any body of rock yielding valuable ore.

(nautical) To take in part of a sail in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind. / (Australia) To pull or yank strongly, especially in relation to horse riding.

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of reef

plural of reef

simple past tense and past participle of reef

(aviation, space travel, of a parachute) Semi-deployed, with the canopy initially restricted from fully opening, in order to avoid subjecting the canopy to excessive air loads or the payload to excessive g-forces from fully deploying at high airspeed.