gabion

American  

[gey-bee-uhn] / ˈgeɪ bi ən /

noun

1. a cylinder of wickerwork filled with earth, used as a military defense.

2. a metal cylinder filled with stones and sunk in water, used in laying the foundations of a dam or jetty.

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gabion British  

/ ˈɡeɪbɪən /

noun

1. a cylindrical metal container filled with stones, used in the construction of underwater foundations

2. a wickerwork basket filled with stones or earth, used (esp formerly) as part of a fortification

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Etymology

Origin of gabion

1570–80; < Middle French: rough, two-handled basket < Italian gabbione, augmentative of gabbia cage < Latin cavea cavity, cage

Example Sentences

There were the fiber-cement panels of the 1987 Ricola storage facility in Laufen, Switzerland, and the gabion walls, filled with stones, of the Dominus winery in the Napa Valley, completed a decade later.

From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2023

These gabion walls will support the berms of soil along the approaches and won’t be visible to the wildlife, who will only see what appears to be a continuation of the hill, Rock said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2023

And throughout the garden, gabion benches and retaining walls, attractively faced with reclaimed brick and bluestone, discreetly hold rubble unearthed on the site.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 19, 2022

Students may also caution that Hesco has yet to face hard times: wars and floods have ensured demand for its moneymaker, the gabion that Heselden invented with his British Coal redundancy.

From The Guardian • Oct. 17, 2010

Caretto was standing nonchalantly beside a gabion, whence he directed the fire of the most powerful of all the batteries, each gun of which was a thirty-six pounder.

From The Lion of Janina The Last Days of the Janissaries by Jókai, Mór