Nissen hut

[ nis-uhn ]

noun
  1. a prefabricated, tunnel-shaped shelter made of corrugated metal and having a concrete floor; Quonset hut: first used by the British army in World War I.

Origin of Nissen hut

1
1915–20; after Lieutenant Colonel Peter N. Nissen (1871–1930), Canadian military engineer who invented it

Words Nearby Nissen hut

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Nissen hut in a sentence

  • Personally, I don't like a Nissen hut nearly as much as the ordinary straight-walled sort.

    The Sword of Deborah | F. Tennyson Jesse
  • Page 66: "Nisson" changed to "Nissen" (the shape and size of a Nissen hut).

    The Escaping Club | A. J. Evans
  • In fact, the room was very much of the shape and size of a Nissen hut.

    The Escaping Club | A. J. Evans
  • Camblain l'Abb was not a large place, so we were cramped for room, and a Nissen hut had to be built for "C" mess.

    The Great War As I Saw It | Frederick George Scott
  • Our first discovery was a Nissen hut in a dank field on the eastern outskirts.

    Pushed and the Return Push | George Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)

British Dictionary definitions for Nissen hut

Nissen hut

/ (ˈnɪsən) /


noun
  1. a military shelter of semicircular cross section, made of corrugated steel sheet: US and Canadian equivalent: Quonset hut

Origin of Nissen hut

1
C20: named after Lt Col. Peter Nissen (1871–1930), British mining engineer, its inventor

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