Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
dry dock

dry dock

4 6.1
A place where workers empty the water so they can build or fix a ship's bottom
  • noun
  • /draɪ dɑk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : dique seco
  • The ship will undergo repairs in the dry dock to fix the damage below the waterline.
  • dry dock for repairs
  • put into dry dock
  • boats in dry dock

And, and then it's the way the, the floating dry dock works is it's this monster fucking boat, right?

Examples

  • I want this boat out of dry dock.

    K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)

  • Today, HMS Victory lies in dry dock in Portsmouth on England's South Coast.

  • But that ship was built in dry dock in space and launched from space.

  • How the hell did she get out of dry dock in time?

    Midway (2019)

  • Moving along the edge of the dry dock now, still calling down into the water.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • We were in dry dock in Norfolk.

    Handsome Harry (2009)

  • Our initial estimate was three months in dry dock in Seattle.

    Midway (2019)

  • A recently built dry dock fills the western side of the port.

    Academic text (1997)

  • My promised summer would have to be put off; his second ship, the Jisto, was in dry dock and needed his personal attention.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I met the crew this past summer/fall in Boothbay Harbor, where the ship had been in dry dock.

    Blog text (30)

Synonyms

floating dock
vsdry dock
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A large platform that sinks so a ship can enter then rises to lift the ship for repairs

depends on draining the enclosed area instead of submerging
drydock
vsdry dock
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A large dock that can be drained of water to build or fix the bottom of ships

is the same meaning but written as two words
graving dock
vsdry dock
  • Specialized
8.4

A large dock that can be emptied of water so workers can fix the bottom of a ship

uses draining the enclosed dock more generally than pumping
floating dry dock
vsdry dock
  • Specialized
6.8

A portable structure that sinks so a ship can enter and then lifts it out for repair

relies on emptying the dock rather than submerging and lifting

How Movable

floating dry dock
  • Specialized
6.8
floating dock
  • Specialized
1 5.3
dry dock
  • Specialized
4 6.1
pier
125 1.4

Surface Forms

dry dock singular
dry docks plural

Morphology

dry + dock

The meaning 'a dock drained of water for ship construction or repair' is directly and transparently derived from 'dry' (not wet) + 'dock' (a place for ships). This is a literal, compositional compound following common English noun-compounding patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The noun dry dock comes from the literal image of a dock that is made dry by letting the water out. A ship then sits on blocks so workers can see and fix the parts usually under the water, so dry dock means 'a dock emptied of water for building or repairing ships'.