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bilge water

American  

noun

  1. Nautical. bilge.

  2. Also called bilgeSlang. foolish, worthless, or offensive talk or ideas; nonsense; rubbish.


Etymology

Origin of bilge water

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Chief Engineer Roberto Cayabyab Penaflor admitted to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships for knowingly discharging untreated oily bilge water directly from the tanker into the sea, federal prosecutors said.

From Seattle Times Aug. 9, 2023

Some suggest bilge water from passing freighters could be aggravating its spread in Turks and Caicos.

From BBC Jan. 9, 2020

The documents also show illegal practices were found on four other Princess ships, including use of clean ocean water to fool onboard sensors that would otherwise detect dumping of improperly contaminated bilge water.

From The Guardian Dec. 2, 2016

Eventually, with the help of a confidential informant, investigators would learn of the ship’s multiple unreported engine failures and makeshift hose-and-barrel system for bilge water that discharged oily waste into the ocean.

From New York Times Dec. 30, 2014

If, however, the bottom is not kept painted and gets damp, and more particularly from bilge water, it will corrode rapidly, and the boiler must be lifted for examination.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose

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