BILGE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Bilge

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noun

Bilge n.

1.

The protuberant part of a cask, which is usually in the middle.

2.

(Naut.) That part of a ship's hull or bottom which is broadest and most nearly flat, and on which she would rest if aground.

3.

Bilge water.

Bilge free (Naut.), stowed in such a way that the bilge is clear of everything; said of a cask.

Bilge pump, a pump to draw the bilge water from the gold of a ship.

Bilge water (Naut.), water which collects in the bilge or bottom of a ship or other vessel. It is often allowed to remain till it becomes very offensive.

Bilge ways, the timbers which support the cradle of a ship upon the ways, and which slide upon the launching ways in launching the vessel.

verb

Bilge v. t.

1.

(Naut.) To fracture the bilge of, or stave in the bottom of (a ship or other vessel).

2.

To cause to bulge.

Bilge v. i. (past & past part. bilged; pres. part. bilging)

1.

(Naut.) To suffer a fracture in the bilge; to spring a leak by a fracture in the bilge.

2.

To bulge.

See images of 'Bilge'

Etymology of 'Bilge'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Bilge" Quotes from Famous Books

... about 4 A.M., the engine-room became the centre of interest. The water gained in spite of every effort. Lashley, to his neck in rushing water, stuck gamely to the work of clearing suctions. For a time, with donkey engine and bilge pump sucking, it looked as though the water would be got under; but the hope was short-lived: five minutes of pumping invariably led to the same result—a general choking of ...

— Scott's Last Expedition Volume I • Captain R. F. Scott

... paused before reaching the desk. It was an invitingly furnished room of cushioned couches, paintings, tapestries, soft chairs, warmly toned rugs. The desk at which Merle toiled was ornate and shining. Ex-Private Cowan felt a sudden revulsion. He was back, knee-deep in trench bilge, tortured in all his being, looking at death from behind a sandbag. Vividly he recalled why he had ...

— The Wrong Twin • Harry Leon Wilson

... a bit too near, my son. The bilge chocks is both pulled off; look you, they're gone away astern." And, sure enough, two long planks drifted away behind the boat. They had been torn off by the force with which she rushed upon the outlying rock. Tommy said, "Let's have ...

— The Romance of the Coast • James Runciman

... pronounced it to be impossible to pass with horses, and unsafe to attempt it. By the logic of money and brandy I persuaded them to attempt it. We embarked; the wind was, indeed, too mighty for us, and we drove on the rocks; but the boat did not bilge or fill, as in all reason it ought to have done. I left Alexis and Harry to work out their way; got my precious carcass transported in a skiff, and went on in a stage to pass a day with "thee and thou." I was received by the father with parental affection—but ...

— Memoirs of Aaron Burr, Complete • Matthew L. Davis

... a dreary moment for Jimson when he pulled this after him and found himself alone on this unwholesome fortress. He could hear the rats scuttle and flop in the abhorred interior; the key cried among the wards like a thing in pain; the sitting-room was deep in dust, and smelt strong of bilge-water. It could not be called a cheerful spot, even for a composer absorbed in beloved toil; how much less for a young gentleman haunted by alarms and awaiting the arrival of ...

— The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 7 (of 25) • Robert Louis Stevenson

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