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

One study found that gabion reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80% compared to a concrete retaining wall.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 20, 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

I happened to turn toward the gabion and observed what they were doing.

From The Colored Cadet at West Point Autobiography of Lieut. Henry Ossian Flipper, first graduate of color from the U. S. Military Academy by Flipper, Henry Ossian