seacock

American

[see-kok] / ˈsiˌkɒk /

noun

Nautical.

a valve in the hull of a vessel for admitting outside water into some part of the hull, as a ballast tank.

seacock British

/ ˈsiːˌkɒk /

noun

nautical a valve in the hull of a vessel below the water line for admitting sea water or for pumping out bilge water

"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

Etymology

Origin of seacock

First recorded in 1660–70; sea + cock ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Then Tuckfield opened a seacock, and the forward escape hatch began to fill with water.

From Time Magazine Archive

One has a brass base to connect directly to a seacock, and the other has a reinforced fiberglass base with an extra outlet for a washdown pump.

From Time Magazine Archive

Remember to double clamp the hose and to check the clamps and the hose when checking the seacock.

From Time Magazine Archive

Cooling water enters through the drive rather than through a seacock.

From Time Magazine Archive

The fireroom is full of water; but it looks to me as though a seacock had been opened.

From Ruth Fielding Homeward Bound A Red Cross Worker's Ocean Perils by Emerson, Alice B.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023