derrick
/ˈdɛɹɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.49 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A framework that is constructed over a mine or oil well for the purpose of boring or lowering pipes.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "They count their ships full tale— / Their corn and oil and wine, / Derrick and loom and bale, / And rampart’s gun-flecked line; / City by City they hail: / “Hast aught to match with mine?”"
- "At some places it is possible to load or discharge a vessel without any expenditure on docks or wharves, by dealing with the cargo by hand, or by the ships derricks, or by means of floating discharging appliances while the vessel it moored to buoys in a tideway. […] At low tide it may be impracticable to use a ship's derricks [at a berth]."
- "Stinky, who had batted a bit over .200 with scant power (two home runs in 66 games in 1933), was being derricked by Navin."
- "As a rule, when the twirler is derricked, it is because the members of the opposition are beginning to take undue familiarity with his offerings. But this is not always the reason."
Etymology
Named after British executioner Thomas Derrick, who invented the framework arrangement commonly known by this name to aid in the conduct of executions. First use appears c. 1600 in the publication Ballad Death Earl Essex.
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
Synonyms
oil derrick