Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🚢 A dividing wall 🖥️ An isolation barrier
bulkhead

bulkhead

47 7.5
A strong wall inside a ship or plane that divides compartments and stops fire and water from spreading
  • noun
  • /ˈbʌlkˌhɛd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : mamparo
  • The ship's bulkhead prevented water from flooding into the cabin during the storm.

I can't close the bulkhead door and Weld me in.

Examples

  • Against the forward bulkhead, a long row of scuba tanks was secured.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Now, as the water level rises, it spills over the watertight bulkheads which, unfortunately, don't go any higher than E deck.

    Titanic (1997)

  • Would you move back against the bulkhead, please.

    The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

  • As long as we stay forward of the next bulkhead, we should be all right.

    Creature (1985)

  • A hole ripped open in the bulkhead, and the sea flooded in.

    Snake Eyes (1998)

  • The explosion was forward and we are half, so the bulkheads protected us from it.

    Kursk (2018)

  • Geordi was leaning on a bulkhead, his arms locked across his chest.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Secure all the bulkheads.

    King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)

  • The room is cramped; there are fallen bulkheads and blown-out consoles.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Suddenly he saw the worn fittings, the stained bulkheads, and the trash underfoot.

    Fiction book (1991)

How Protective

bulkhead
  • Specialized
47 7.5
wall
∞ 1.0
partition
14 4.2
divider
11 3.0

Surface Forms

bulkhead singular
bulkheads plural

Morphology

bulkhead = bulk + head (opaque) = bulk + head

Although formed from 'bulk' + 'head', the specific nautical meaning 'a ship's partition' is a specialized usage not derivable from the component meanings by an average learner.

Etymology

Bulkhead comes from the old parts bulk ('main load') and head ('end' or 'wall'), so it first meant a wall by the ship's cargo. A bulkhead is a strong wall that keeps water or fire from moving to other parts of the ship, which is why it means a protective partition.