slipway
1
7.2
- noun
- /ˈslɪpˌweɪ/
- UK
:
dique
- I watch him undo the straps that harness the trailer to the boat and try to push the undercarriage up the slipway before my impatience finally gets the better of me.
- slipway shipyards
- six slipways
There was one obvious prominent slipway in to the channel closest to the camp.
- There was one obvious prominent slipway in to the channel closest to the camp.
- And now is the time to give that lifeboat a a mighty shove into the water, like some great liner rolling down the slipways of the Clyde.
Examples
-
Dad maneuvers the boat down the slipway, wading slowly around to the bow until the sea is up to his chest.
Fiction book (2002) -
As Dad finally pulls the boat clear of the slipway, he gets in and shouts for me to come over to the ladder at the side of the jetty.
Fiction book (2002) -
If the section of the slipway goes up before the actual moment of launching, then all our efforts have been wasted.
-
Southeastern was able to deliver more ships than any of the other five southern slipway yards in 1943.
Academic text (2009) -
By the end of January, workers had laid keels on all six of the slipways.
Academic text (2009) -
The honors meant the yard had completed three cycles of the slipways from keel laying to delivery, while showing improvement in construction and production.
Academic text (2009) -
By the time we’ve pulled the boat back up the slipway and transferred our stuff to the car, dark and thickening fog obscures the sea.
Fiction book (2002) -
A ship undergoing construction is said to be on the ways (short for "slipway"). Elphick, Liberty, 67, and Sawyer and Mitchell, Liberty Ships, 84.
Academic text (2009) -
After the marshland dried, it was leveled and construction progressed on the slipways, platen buildings for moldings, and main fabrication buildings.
Academic text (2009) -
The workers guided the ship down the slipway to launch it into the water.
Synonyms
1
8.3
A slanted channel that lets things slide down by gravity
A sloping ramp used to move ships between water and land for building or repair
A sloping ramp that lets ships slide into or out of the water
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word slipway is made of two simple parts: slip meaning 'to slide' and way meaning 'path'. Think of a ramp where a boat 'slides' down a path into the water, which is exactly what a slipway is for.