derrick

American  

[der-ik] / ˈdɛr ɪk /

noun

1. Machinery. a jib crane having a boom hinged near the base of the mast so as to rotate about the mast, for moving a load toward or away from the mast by raising or lowering the boom.

2. Also called oil derrick.  the towerlike framework over an oil well or the like.

3. a boom for lifting cargo, pivoted at its inner end to a ship's mast or kingpost, and raised and supported at its outer end by topping lifts.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. Machinery. luff.

derrick British  

/ ˈdɛrɪk /

noun

1. a simple crane having lifting tackle slung from a boom

2. the framework erected over an oil well to enable drill tubes to be raised and lowered

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verb

1. to raise or lower the jib of (a crane)

Etymology

Origin of derrick

Originally a hangman, the gallows, after the surname of a well-known Tyburn hangman, circa 1600

Example Sentences

Between downtown and Venice Beach, thousands of homeowners uprooted their orange trees and put oil derricks right in their backyards.

From Los Angeles Times

Dotting the shoreline is a bleak expanse of detritus: timeworn pumps, tottering derricks, wayward cranes and aging pipelines.

From Los Angeles Times

Vauxhall, 150 miles southeast of Calgary, calls itself the “Potato Capital of the West,” but its spud fields whiff of petroleum because they also sprout oil derricks.

From The Wall Street Journal

A giant wooden oil derrick serves as a central landmark in Taft, which finances its schools, fire department and police force with oil revenues.

From Barron's

First cranes, then the drilling derrick and finally the accommodation modules fell into the sea.

From BBC