Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A barrier that protects a harbor or shore from the full impact of waves.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Any structure or contrivance, as a mole, mound, wall, or sunken hulk, serving to break the force of waves and protect a harbor or anything exposed to the force of the waves.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Any structure or contrivance, as a mole, or a wall at the mouth of a harbor, to break the force of waves, and afford protection from their violence.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a construction in or around a harbour designed to break the force of the sea and to provide shelter for vessels lying inside
  • noun nautical a low bulkhead across the forecastle deck of a ship which diverts water breaking over the bows into the scuppers
  • noun On beaches: a wooden or concrete barrier, usually perpendicular to the shore, intended to prevent the movement of sand along a coast.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb show the fins above the water while swimming
  • noun a protective structure of stone or concrete; extends from shore into the water to prevent a beach from washing away

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • "If you look out towards what you call the breakwater, you see all the edges right now with the rocks.

    The Southern Gazette: News 2009

  • What we're calling the breakwater is obviously working.

    Storm Rising Lackey, Mercedes 1995

  • Behind the south-facing second-story window with the optimal view of both the harbor and the breakwater is the main council chamber of the Brotherhood.

    The Death of Chaos Modesitt, L. E. 1995

  • What we're calling the breakwater is obviously working.

    Storm Rising Lackey, Mercedes 1995

  • We first visited the village of Sand Beach, and returned at nightfall to the breakwater, which is five miles distant from the former; here the yacht was cabled to the dock.

    By Water to the Columbian Exposition Johanna S. Wisthaler

  • The bay is admirably sheltered by the land on three sides, while on the North it is sheltered by a large breakwater, which is protected and leaves passage for vessels.

    The Delta of the Triple Elevens The History of Battery D, 311th Field Artillery US Army, American Expeditionary Forces William Elmer Bachman

  • The breakwater, which is a good half mile in length, is a favorite promenade for the citizens of Colombo.

    Nellie Bly's Book: Around the World in Seventy-Two Days 1890

  • On the other side of the breakwater is a choppy small bay where the more experienced snorkelers go out.

    billingsgazette.com 2009

  • If it had not been for them, in fact, there probably would never have been a "breakwater" at all.

    Storm Rising Lackey, Mercedes 1995

  • The end result of that was a temporary "breakwater" running from the northernmost tip of Iftel to the southernmost end of Karse, a breakwater that disrupted the mage-storms as they moved across the face of the land, broke them up and dissipated their energies harmlessly.

    Storm Rising Lackey, Mercedes 1995

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