gabion

[ gey-bee-uhn ]

noun

a cylinder of wickerwork filled with earth, used as a military defense.
a metal cylinder filled with stones and sunk in water, used in laying the foundations of a dam or jetty.

Origin of gabion

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

Words Nearby gabion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gabion in a sentence

Captain gabion challenged Hookey, who, alone of the three, performed correctly.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, No. 411, January 1850 | Various
Captain gabion took me by the elbow, and proposed that we should sojourn at the same hotel.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, No. 411, January 1850 | Various
Just as he extracted an enormous clasp-knife, I whipped it out of his hand, and passed it to Captain gabion.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, No. 411, January 1850 | Various
Captain gabion, breathing the only execration I ever heard from his lips, choked the skipper off.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, No. 411, January 1850 | Various
The slight gabion protection for the siege batteries was at first replaced by strong timber shelters.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for gabion

gabion

/ (ˈɡeɪbɪən) /

noun

a cylindrical metal container filled with stones, used in the construction of underwater foundations
a wickerwork basket filled with stones or earth, used (esp formerly) as part of a fortification

Origin of gabion

C16: from French: basket, from Italian gabbione, from gabbia cage, from Latin cavea; see cage

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

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