GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Dock, n. [Akin to D. dok; of uncertain origin; cf. LL. doga ditch, L. doga ditch, L. doga sort of vessel, Gr.  receptacle, fr.  to receive.]
   An artificial basin or an inclosure in connection with a harbor or river, -- used for the reception of vessels, and provided with gates for keeping in or shutting out the tide.
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   The slip or water way extending between two piers or projecting wharves, for the reception of ships; -- sometimes including the piers themselves; as, to be down on the dock.
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   The place in court where a criminal or accused person stands.
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   Balance dock, a kind of floating dock which is kept level by pumping water out of, or letting it into, the compartments of side chambers. -- Dry dock, a dock from which the water may be shut or pumped out, especially, one in the form of a chamber having walls and floor, often of masonry and communicating with deep water, but having appliances for excluding it; -- used in constructing or repairing ships. The name includes structures used for the examination, repairing, or building of vessels, as graving docks, floating docks, hydraulic docks, etc. -- Floating dock, a dock which is made to become buoyant, and, by floating, to lift a vessel out of water. -- Graving dock, a dock for holding a ship for graving or cleaning the bottom, etc. -- Hydraulic dock, a dock in which a vessel is raised clear of the water by hydraulic presses. -- Naval dock, a dock connected with which are naval stores, materials, and all conveniences for the construction and repair of ships. -- Sectional dock, a form of floating dock made in separate sections or caissons. -- Slip dock, a dock having a sloping floor that extends from deep water to above high-water mark, and upon which is a railway on which runs a cradle carrying the ship. -- Wet dock, a dock where the water is shut in, and kept at a given level, to facilitate the loading and unloading of ships; -- also sometimes used as a place of safety; a basin.
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2.       
   Floating, a.
   Buoyed upon or in a fluid; a, the floating timbers of a wreck; floating motes in the air.
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   Free or lose from the usual attachment; as, the floating ribs in man and some other animals.
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   Not funded; not fixed, invested, or determined; as, floating capital; a floating debt.
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   Trade was at an end. Floating capital had been withdrawn in great masses from the island.
   Macaulay.
   
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   Floating anchor (Naut.), a drag or sea anchor; drag sail. -- Floating battery (Mil.), a battery erected on rafts or the hulls of ships, chiefly for the defense of a coast or the bombardment of a place. -- Floating bridge. (a) A bridge consisting of rafts or timber, with a floor of plank, supported wholly by the water; a bateau bridge. See Bateau. (b) (Mil.) A kind of double bridge, the upper one projecting beyond the lower one, and capable of being moved forward by pulleys; -- used for carrying troops over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a fort. (c) A kind of ferryboat which is guided and impelled by means of chains which are anchored on each side of a stream, and pass over wheels on the vessel, the wheels being driven by stream power. (d) The landing platform of a ferry dock. -- Floating cartilage (Med.), a cartilage which moves freely in the cavity of a joint, and often interferes with the functions of the latter. -- Floating dam. (a) An anchored dam. (b) A caisson used as a gate for a dry dock. -- Floating derrick, a derrick on a float for river and harbor use, in raising vessels, moving stone for harbor improvements, etc. -- Floating dock. (Naut.) See under Dock. -- Floating harbor, a breakwater of cages or booms, anchored and fastened together, and used as a protection to ships riding at anchor to leeward. Knight. -- Floating heart (Bot.), a small aquatic plant (Limnanthemum lacunosum) whose heart-shaped leaves float on the water of American ponds. -- Floating island, a dish for dessert, consisting of custard with floating masses of whipped cream or white of eggs. -- Floating kidney. (Med.) See Wandering kidney, under Wandering. -- Floating light, a light shown at the masthead of a vessel moored over sunken rocks, shoals, etc., to warn mariners of danger; a light-ship; also, a light erected on a buoy or floating stage. -- Floating liver. (Med.) See Wandering liver, under Wandering. -- Floating pier, a landing stage or pier which rises and falls with the tide. -- Floating ribs (Anat.), the lower or posterior ribs which are not connected with the others in front; in man they are the last two pairs. -- Floating screed (Plastering), a strip of plastering first laid on, to serve as a guide for the thickness of the coat. -- Floating threads (Weaving), threads which span several other threads without being interwoven with them, in a woven fabric.
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