bulb keel

Save This Word!

noun Nautical.

a narrow keel having a swelling weight of lead or iron at the bottom.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of bulb keel

First recorded in 1890–95

Words nearby bulb keel

bulbar paralysis, bulb fly, bulbiferous, bulbil, bulbitis, bulb keel, bulblet, bulb mite, bulbo-, bulbocavernosus, bulb of corpus spongiosum

How to use bulb keel in a sentence

One day, he took a monk with a cleanly shaven head and had him walk around a light bulb to demonstrate this theory.
From Fashion Player to Photographer Monk|Nina Strochlic|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The trade in empty bottles should be as eyebrow-raising as the old Soviet dud-bulb biz.
The Cult of Pappy van Winkle|Eric Felten|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His bright idea turned out to be the incandescent light bulb, which he invented in 1880.
From Edison to Jobs|The Daily Beast|September 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Death waits for these things as a cement floor waits for a dropping light bulb.
American Dreams: Saul Bellow’s Masterpiece of Lamentation|Nathaniel Rich|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In 2007, the Bush administration signed a measure that would finally bring the light bulb into the 21st century.
The Chicken Littles Are Wrong: Environmental Regulations Always Spur Innovation|Daniel Gross|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But, as the keel of the boats touched bottom, each boat-load dashed into the water and then into the enemy's fire.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Bang went the fragile bulb, as it splintered into a thousand atoms, and the mercury shot in sparkling globules over the table.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Robert was out there under the shed, reclining in the shade against the sloping keel of the overturned boat.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Should it fail, the fluid can generally be pumped out by alternate compression of the tube and the bulb.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
To maintain the vessel on an even keel he introduced four vanes, called “hydroplanes,” for regulating the depth of descent.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge|Various