breakwater

[ breyk-waw-ter, -wot-er ]

/ ˈbreɪkˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR breakwater ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a barrier that breaks the force of waves, as before a harbor.

RELATED WORDS

wharf, barrier, levee, embankment, pier

Nearby words

Origin of breakwater

First recorded in 1715–25; break + water

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for breakwater

Slowly the gallant ship come round the breakwater to her moorings.
New Zealanders at Gallipoli|Major Fred Waite
This breakwater is to be about two miles long, and ten feet thick at the top, increasing in thickness toward the bottom.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 810, July 11, 1891|Various
Joe Doane sat out on the breakwater and laughed at the joke on Joe Cadara.
The Best Short Stories of 1919|Various
But—but—I'm afraid I meant all the time to go on the breakwater if I found a chance.
Mamie's Watchword|Joanna H. (Joanna Hooe) Mathews

And then the Aleutian and Kuril Islands make a sort of breakwater to head off big bergs.
The Boy With the U. S. Life-Savers|Francis Rolt-Wheeler

British Dictionary definitions for breakwater

breakwater

/ (ˈbreɪkˌwɔːtə) /

noun

Also called: mole a massive wall built out into the sea to protect a shore or harbour from the force of waves

another name for groyne

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for breakwater

breakwater

1721, from break (v.) + water (n.).

Science definitions for breakwater

breakwater

[ brāk′wô′tər ]

An offshore barrier, such as a jetty, that protects a harbor or shore from the full impact of waves.