cofferdam
/ˈkɑ.fɚ.dæm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.63 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A temporary watertight enclosure used to create a dry foundation for building bridges and other structures over water.
noun
An empty space that acts as a protective barrier between two floors or bulkheads on a ship.
Example Sentences
- "The contractor for the cofferdams, &c., was an Englishman, as were the principle workmen, and all the machinery has been supplied from England."
- "He stood full six feet in height, with noble shoulders, and a chest like a coffer-dam."
- "Downstream there was a small wooden cofferdam and when he woke there were naked children splashing in the pool there and he rose and wrapped his jacket about his waist and walked out along the bank where he could sit and watch them."
- "At fixed injection volume of PVC gels solution, the curvature of MLAs [(microlens arrays)] obtained with patterned electrode substrates at fixed sizes of cofferdam can be tuned by changing the preparation voltage."
- "Where the viaduct crosses the lake, the piles will be bored directly into the lakebed, using a cofferdam to hold back the water while the pier is built."
- "I refer to Dr. Barnum, who has given us the coffer-dam. I cannot detain you while I describe the immense benefit which his application of a very simple material has conferred on the public."
Etymology
From coffer + dam. The dental dam sense was introduced in English by dentist Sanford Christie Barnum at New York City in 1864 (by metaphor), but after his century it was maintained only in languages other than English (for example, German Kofferdam as a loanword from 19th-century English).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkɑ.fɚ.dæm/
- British English: /ˈkɒ.fə.dæm/