breeching

American  

[brich-ing, bree-ching] / ˈbrɪtʃ ɪŋ, ˈbri tʃɪŋ /

noun

1. the part of a harness that passes around the haunches of a horse.

2. a smoke pipe connecting one or more boilers with a chimney.

3. Navy. (formerly) a strong rope fastened to a ship's side for securing a gun or checking its recoil.

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breeching British  

/ ˈbriː-, ˈbrɪtʃɪŋ /

noun

1. the strap of a harness that passes behind a horse's haunches

2. navy (formerly) the rope used to check the recoil run of a ship's guns or to secure them against rough weather

3. the parts comprising the breech of a gun

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Etymology

Origin of breeching

First recorded in 1505–15; breech + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Mr Stoppard praised zoology student Ben Hancock-Smith for capturing a photo of the whale breeching.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2024

The idyllic views of the Pacific, and of the occasional humpback whale breeching below, make it seem like any other year at Kapalua.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 3, 2024

Quinn is the only guest that enjoys something like a transcendent private moment: a nighttime vision of a whale breeching in the ocean.

From Slate • Aug. 17, 2021

There has been a huge increase in the number of doctors prosecuted for breeching 219a in recent years.

From The Guardian • Mar. 11, 2018

Then the lads tailed on to the breeching hawsers, which held the carriage from sliding on its iron rollers, and eased the strain as well as they could.

From Blackbeard: Buccaneer by Schoonover, Frank Earle