caisson

[ key-suh n, -son ]

/ ˈkeɪ sən, -sɒn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caisson ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a structure used in underwater work, consisting of an airtight chamber, open at the bottom and containing air under sufficient pressure to exclude the water.

a boatlike structure used as a gate for a dock or the like.

Nautical.

Also called camel, pontoon. a float for raising a sunken vessel, sunk beside the vessel, made fast to it, and then pumped out to make it buoyant.
a watertight structure built against a damaged area of a hull to render the hull watertight; cofferdam.

a two-wheeled wagon, used for carrying artillery ammunition.

an ammunition chest.

a wooden chest containing bombs or explosives, used formerly as a mine.

Architecture. coffer(def 4).

Nearby words

cairn terrier, cairngorm, cairngorm mountains, cairns, cairo, caisson, caisson disease, caithness, caitiff, caitlin, caius

Origin of caisson

1695–1705; < French, Middle French < Old Provençal, equivalent to caissa box (see case²) + -on augmentative suffix

Related forms

cais·soned, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for caisson

The enemy had again outflanked us, and the men lifted me on a caisson.
Memoirs of a Veteran Who Served as a Private in the 60's in the War Between the States|Isaac Hermann
The griping pains that accompany the "Caisson Disease" are excruciating.
Inventions of the Great War|A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond
The chief danger of caisson work is the "bends," or "caisson disease."
American Adventures|Julian Street
The excited Frenchman at the caisson had changed his mind evidently.
The Boy Scouts Afoot in France|Herbert Carter

An examination of the caisson showed that the men had struck a vein of sulphuretted hydrogen gas.
Boys' Second Book of Inventions|Ray Stannard Baker

British Dictionary definitions for caisson

caisson

/ (kəˈsuːn, ˈkeɪsən) /

noun

a watertight chamber open at the bottom and containing air under pressure, used to carry out construction work under water

a similar unpressurized chamber

a watertight float filled with air, used to raise sunken shipsSee also camel (def. 2)

a watertight structure placed across the entrance of a basin, dry dock, etc, to exclude water from it

a box containing explosives, formerly used as a mine
an ammunition chest
a two-wheeled vehicle containing an ammunition chest

another name for coffer (def. 3)

Word Origin for caisson

C18: from French, assimilated to caisse case ²

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