cofferdam
Americannoun
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a watertight enclosure placed or constructed in waterlogged soil or under water and pumped dry so that construction or repairs can proceed under normal conditions.
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Nautical. a sealed void between two bulkheads, as for insulation or as an extra barrier to the escape of liquids or vapors.
noun
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a watertight structure, usually of sheet piling, that encloses an area under water, pumped dry to enable construction work to be carried out. Below a certain depth a caisson is required
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(on a ship) a compartment separating two bulkheads or floors, as for insulation or to serve as a barrier against the escape of gas or oil
Etymology
Origin of cofferdam
Vocabulary lists containing cofferdam
Civil Engineering
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Engineering - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That included the construction of a huge temporary cofferdam to divert the thundering water from the building site.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 6, 2022
Some 27,000 tons of rock and earth were dumped upstream to create a 600-foot long cofferdam from the mainland to Goat Island.
From Slate ● May 20, 2019
“He was pretty definitive about it,” White said, as he and Broadwater watched the operation from the cofferdam pier.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 4, 2018
When the waters finally rose in February 1969, water seeping beneath the cofferdam overwhelmed pumps installed to drain it — exactly as predicted by geologist Fryxell.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2017
The area behind the cofferdam swarmed with men and machines, all raising individual clouds of dust.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
