caisson

[ key-suhn, -son ]

See 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).

Origin of caisson

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

Other words from caisson

caissoned, adjective

Words Nearby caisson

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use caisson in a sentence

The burial ground was empty except for the occasional horse-drawn caisson being pulled through its quiet lanes.
Black Hawk Down’s Long Shadow | Daniel Klaidman | October 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The largest dock is divisible by a central caisson so that four ships can be docked at one time.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 8 | Various
The first shot did no execution, but the next struck a caisson and exploded its contents.
Reminiscences of a Rebel | Wayland Fuller Dunaway
Commanders of batteries will see that their limber and caisson-boxes are filled to their utmost capacity.
Nurse and Spy in the Union Army | S. Emma E. Edmonds
The reserve men cut the gear of the dead horse, dragged his body aside, and replaced him with one of the six from the caisson.
In Hostile Red | Joseph Altsheler

The horses became entangled among the ropes, and stumbled over the gun and caisson, throwing their riders to the earth.
In Hostile Red | Joseph Altsheler

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 ships: See 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)

Origin of 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

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