caisson Hear it!

caisson Definition

cais·son (sən, -sän′)

noun

  1. a chest for holding ammunition
  2. a two-wheeled wagon for transporting ammunition
  3. a watertight enclosure inside which underwater construction work can be done
  4. a watertight box for raising sunken ships: after the box is sunk and attached, the water is forced out of it so that it floats
  5. a hollow, boat-shaped box, used as a floodgate at a dock or basin

Etymology: Fr < It cassone < cassa, a chest < L capsa, a box, case

caisson Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • lift: When all was stable the LISA A lifted the caisson off the Barge allowing it to return to its berth.
  • fill: The boat then glides effortlessly into one of the water filled caissons where the doors close to form a watertight seal.
  • call: These are called suction caissons and have been used for a number of projects in the oil and gas industry.
  • sink: The harbor consists of ships and concrete caissons sunk as break waters and prefabricated metal piers and roadways.
  • enter: Inside the lift The Edwin Clark trip boat has just entered the lower caisson.
  • form: At Chepstow the piers were large cast iron cylinders which themselves formed the caissons, the air locks being fitted on top of them.

Adjective modifier

  • concrete: It sits on location at the end of an unfinished line of precast concrete caissons, 500 m out into the English Channel.
  • other: View down at the trip boat in the other caisson.
  • huge: The barrage will be made from a series of huge caissons ( concrete blocks that are common in underwater construction ).
  • low: Inside the lift The Edwin Clark trip boat has just entered the lower caisson.
  • right: The right caisson is almost at the top now.

Modifies a noun

  • unit: Caisson units are also produced in sizes up to 4 meter diameter.

Noun used with modifier

  • diameter: Construction of the foundations required the sinking of eight 25m deep 9.9m diameter caissons.
  • suction: Recently, this work has focussed on a novel foundation called a " suction caisson " .
  • hand: Approaching the lift Narrowboat crossing the aqueduct and heading for the left hand caisson.

Browse dictionary entries near caisson

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