Definition of luff

• n. - The side of a ship toward the wind.
• n. - The act of sailing a ship close to the wind.
• n. - The roundest part of a ship's bow.
• n. - The forward or weather leech of a sail, especially of the jib, spanker, and other fore-and-aft sails.
• v. i. - To turn the head of a vessel toward the wind; to sail nearer the wind; to turn the tiller so as to make the vessel sail nearer the wind.