bilge pump
3
7.1
- noun
- /bɪldʒ pʌmp/
- Specialized
:
bomba de achique
- The sailor checked the bilge pump to ensure it was working properly before setting out on their voyage.
- bilge pump running
- a hand bilge pump
And the Democrats are saying we need more bilge pumps to pump the water out once it enters the whole of the ship.
- And the Democrats are saying we need more bilge pumps to pump the water out once it enters the whole of the ship.
Examples
-
Check the bilge pump!
-
This level has bilge pumps on it for storm runoff.
-
If this bilge pump stops running, come get me, okay?
-
Then you clogged up my bilge pump.
-
We had the bilge pump connected, and Evan never stopped.
-
Aside from the bilge pump, the Nell performed like a shipwright's fantasy on a maiden voyage.
Fiction book (1996) -
They appeared to ignore the corrosion and the constantly running bilge pumps that strained to carry off the heavy leakage during the voyage.
Fiction book (1998) -
Presently, jockeying the gasboat into the seas, Father Jerome heard the suck and thud of the bilge pump.
Fiction book (1994) -
After the storm, the crew relied on the bilge pump to remove the excess water from the boat's hull.
-
A reliable bilge pump is essential for maintaining the safety of any vessel on the water.
Synonyms
2
3.0
A simple device you move by hand to lift water or push air
1
4.2
A machine that pulls water up by removing some air above it
A machine that moves water from a lower place to a higher place
How Effective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'bilge' names the lowest part of a ship where water collects and 'pump' names a machine that moves fluids, so together they naturally mean a pump for the bilge (to remove bilgewater). This noun–noun compound follows a common English pattern and would be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.
Etymology
Bilge pump comes from the words bilge (the ship's lowest part or 'belly' where water collects) and pump (a machine that moves water). Picture the ship's belly filling with water and the pump pulling it out, and you see why bilge pump means 'a pump that removes water from the bottom of a ship or boat'.