well deck

noun

: a space on the weather deck of a ship lying at a lower level between a raised forecastle or poop and the bridge superstructure

Examples of well deck in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
As seen from inside the well deck on board the USS Somerset, NASA and Department of Defense teams practiced recovery procedures in support of the agency's plans to send the Artemis 2 astronauts around the moon and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 31 Mar. 2025 Another crew member was a Titanic obsessive—his endless talk of davits and well decks still rattles in my head. Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 1 July 2023 The 27,000-ton, 761-foot-long ship is equipped with a full-length flight deck for air operations, a well deck for floating out landing craft to sea, and can transport several hundred marines drawn from Turkey’s Amphibious Marine Infantry Brigade. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 19 Apr. 2023 Ships in the class are more than 600 feet long, with a flight deck that can handle helicopters and Osprey aircraft, plus a well deck that can store and launch a variety of amphibious craft. al, 7 Feb. 2023 The ship is equipped not only with aviation facilities (including a ski ramp), but the ability to launch and recover amphibious landing craft from a floodable well deck. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 10 Jan. 2022 Commissioned in 2009, Cavour is also equipped with a well deck capable of launching and recovering landing craft, hovercraft, and amphibious vehicles. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 10 Jan. 2022 The Wasp-class also includes a well deck for embarking and disembarking amphibious landing craft. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 10 Jan. 2022 The well deck is where the ship stores and stages amphibious landing craft. Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1759, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of well deck was in 1759

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Cite this Entry

“Well deck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/well%20deck. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.

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