floating dock

American  

noun

1. 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.

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floating dock British  

noun

1. Also called: floating dry dock.  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 repair

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Etymology

Origin of floating dock

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Kids leap and slide from the floating docks, their sounds of delight travel across the surface.

From Salon

Its high-margin ship-repair segment offers steady earnings, underpinned by structural tailwinds from an ageing global fleet and upcoming third floating dock.

From The Wall Street Journal

In a statement Tuesday, harbor officials said the incident illuminated “a new vulnerability in floating dock design: a previously underrecognized hydrodynamic failure mechanism.”

From Los Angeles Times

Separately, the US is planning to build its own floating dock off the coast to boost sea deliveries.

From BBC

A separate ship is on its way from the US carrying materials to build a floating dock and pier, to enable supplies on far larger cargo ships to get ashore.

From BBC