Definitions

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

  • noun A valve in the hull of a boat or ship that may be opened to let in or discharge water, as in filling or emptying a ballast tank.

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

  • noun nautical A valve in the hull of a vessel used to let in water, either to clean the bilges, flood a ballast tank, or scuttle the vessel

Etymologies

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Examples

  • On Jan. 5, 1963, as it sat at the Wilson Line pier, the main seacock aboard the vessel froze and broke.

    The rise and fall of the pride of the Potomac John Kelly 2010

  • "The lights were out but E.R.A. Bond, equipped with a torch, followed me down, and together we unshipped the hopper guards, battened down the doors, flung what cordite we could find through the escape door, battened that, and then opened up the flood and seacock ...."

    Graf Spee Pope, Dudley 1956

  • Boats have also sunk when the seacock was closed over winter and then opened in the springtime, but the owner failed to notice water trickling into the bilge from a freeze damaged bowl.

    Lake News Online Homepage RSS 2009

  • Police said someone had deliberately sabotaged the yacht's seacock, a valve on the hull that allows water to flow into and out of the vessel, causing it to sink.

    National Nine News 2009

  • Police have not ruled it out as a possible murder weapon, or the item used to damage the seacock on the hull.

    National Nine News 2009

  • Police have not ruled it out as a possible murder weapon, or the item used to damage the seacock on the hull.

    National Nine News 2009

  • However, with spring's warmer temperatures the water now returns to a liquid, and if the seacock was left open last fall, water can pour into the bilge.

    Lake News Online Homepage RSS 2009

  • Police said someone had deliberately sabotaged the yacht's seacock, a valve on the hull that allows water to flow into and out of the vessel, causing it to sink.

    National Nine News 2009

  • Normally I shut the sink seacock when the weather’s a bit bouncy.

    True Spirit Jessica Watson 2010

  • "Normally I shut the sink seacock when the weather's a bit bouncy, but having thought that things were quieting down, I'd only just opened it again.

    sunshinecoastdaily.com.au: The Sunshine Coast Daily 2010

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