caulk

or calk

[ kawk ]

/ kɔk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR caulk ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to fill or close seams or crevices of (a tank, window, etc.) in order to make watertight, airtight, etc.

to make (a vessel) watertight by filling the seams between the planks with oakum or other material driven snug.

to fill or close (a seam, joint, etc.), as in a boat.

to drive the edges of (plating) together to prevent leakage.

noun

Also caulk·ing

[kaw-king] /ˈkɔ kɪŋ/. a material or substance used for caulking.

Nearby words

cauliflower ear, cauliflower fungus, cauliflowerette, cauline, caulis, caulk, caulker, caulonia, caumesthesia, cauquenes, cauri

Origin of caulk

1350–1400; < Latin calcāre to trample, tread on (verbal derivative of calx heel), conflated with Middle English cauken < Old French cauquer to trample < Latin, as above

Can be confused

calk caulk

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

Examples from the Web for caulking

When the ship's labouring forces the caulking out of her seams.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
Hammers without valves are always short of stroke, and are chiefly used in caulking and chipping.
Inventors at Work|George Iles
We found them all busily employed, some in caulking the boat, others in splitting a tree to form planks.
Peter Trawl|W. H. G. Kingston
Then once more he used the caulking, driving it in all about the place where the skiff had been struck.
The Go Ahead Boys on Smugglers' Island|Ross Kay

The fitting is so short that it is almost impossible to get a caulking iron into the throat.
Elements of Plumbing|Samuel Dibble

British Dictionary definitions for caulking

caulk

calk

/ (kɔːk) /

verb

to stop up (cracks, crevices, etc) with a filler

nautical to pack (the seams) between the planks of the bottom of (a vessel) with waterproof material to prevent leakage

Derived Forms

caulker or calker, noun

Word Origin for caulk

C15: from Old Northern French cauquer to press down, from Latin calcāre to trample, from calx heel

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