floating dock

noun

a submersible, floating structure used as a dry dock, having a floor that is submerged, slipped under a floating vessel, and then raised so as to raise the vessel entirely out of the water.

Origin of floating dock

First recorded in 1865–70

Also called floating dry dock.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for floating dock

Historical Examples of floating dock

Dismounting, we tied our horses to the fence and hastily constructed what the boys called a "floating-dock."
The History of Company A, Second Illinois Cavalry
Samuel H. Fletcher

British Dictionary definitions for floating dock

floating dock

noun

a large boxlike structure that can be submerged to allow a vessel to enter it and then floated to raise the vessel out of the water for maintenance or repairAlso called: floating dry dock

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