Movement through the water. A boat ‘makes way’ when she moves, either ahead or astern. She is ‘under way’ when actually moving, and then she is said to ‘have way on’. If she has a lot of way on, the implication is one of considerable momentum and potential danger. (Incidentally, an anchor is often Weighed when a vessel is about to get under way, but the vessel herself is never ‘under weigh’.)