cofferdam

Definition

A temporary watertight enclosure used to create a dry foundation for building bridges and other structures over water.

Etymology

From coffer + dam.

Example Sentences

• "He stood full six feet in height, with noble shoulders, and a chest like a coffer-dam."
• "Downstream there was a small wooden cofferdam and when he woke there were naked children splashing in the pool there and he rose and wrapped his jacket about his waist and walked out along the bank where he could sit and watch them."
• "At fixed injection volume of PVC gels solution, the curvature of MLAs [(microlens arrays)] obtained with patterned electrode substrates at fixed sizes of cofferdam can be tuned by changing the preparation voltage."