B.
General and Maritime English
General English
Alive: living, not dead.
Bail: the temporary release of an accused person
awaiting trial, sometimes on condition that a sum of
money be lodged to guarantee their appearance in court.
Bearing: a person's way of standing or moving.
Bend: shape or force (something straight) into a curve or
angle.
Block: a large solid piece of hard material, especially
rock, stone, or wood, typically with flat surfaces on each
side.
Boom: a loud, deep, resonant sound.
Bridge: a structure carrying a road, path, railroad, or
canal across a river, ravine, road, railroad, or other
obstacle.
Cable: a thick rope of wire or nonmetallic fiber, typically
used for construction, mooring ships, and towing
vehicles.
Calm: not showing or feeling nervousness, anger, or
other strong emotions.
Check: examine (something) in order to determine its
accuracy, quality, or condition, or to detect the presence
of something.
Choked: have severe difficulty in breathing because of a
constricted or obstructed throat or a lack of air.
Cockpit: a place where cockfights are held.
Colors: the property possessed by an object of producing
different sensations on the eye as a result of the way the
object reflects or emits light.
Cradle: an infant's bed or crib, typically one mounted on
rockers.
Dip: put or let something down quickly or briefly in or into
(liquid).
Displacement: the moving of something from its place or
position.
Dolphin: a small gregarious toothed whale that typically
has a beaklike snout and a curved fin on the back.
Dolphins have become well known for their sociable
nature and high intelligence.
Draft: a preliminary version of a piece of writing.
Drag: pull (someone or something) along forcefully,
roughly, or with difficulty.
Easy: achieved without great effort; presenting few
difficulties.
Maritime English
Alive: Alert (pep it up!)
Bail: To throw water out of a boat; a yoke, as a ladder
bail (rung).
Bearing: The direction of an object (with reference to
you, your ship, another object).
Bend: The twisting or turning of a rope so as to fasten it
to some object, as a spar or ring.
Block: An apparatus consisting of an outside shell and a
sheave through which a rope may be passed (pulley).
Boom: A spar used for fore and aft sails.
Bridge: The raised platform extending athwartships, the
part of the ship from which the ship is steered and
navigated.
Cable: A chain or line (rope) bent to the anchor.
Calm: A wind or force less than one knot (knot: 1 nautical
mile per hour).
Check: To ease off gradually (go slower and move
carefully).
Choked: The falls foul in a block. The falls may be
chocked or jammed intentionally for a temporary
securing (holding).
Cockpit: The well of a sailing vessel, especially a small
boat, for the wheel and steerman.
Colors: The national ensign.
Cradle: A stowage rest for a ship's boat.
Dip: A position of a flag when lowered part way in salute
(method of salute between vessels, like planes dipping
wings).
Displacement: The weight of the water displaced by a
vessel.
Dolphin: A cluster of piles for mooring.
Draft: The distance from the surface of the water to the
ship's keel (how deep the ship is into the water).
Drag: A sea anchor contrived to keep a vessel's head to
the wind and sea
Easy: Carefully (watch what you're doing)
Fake: not genuine; counterfeit.
Fender:
the mudguard or area around the wheel well of a vehicle.
Foul: offensive to the senses, especially through having
a disgusting smell or taste or being unpleasantly soiled.
Founder: a person who manufactures articles of cast
metal; the owner or operator of a foundry.
Gear: one of a set of toothed wheels that work together
to alter the relation between the speed of a driving
mechanism (such as the engine of a vehicle or the crank
of a bicycle) and the speed of the driven parts (the
wheels).
Hail: pellets of frozen rain which fall in showers from
cumulonimbus clouds.
Head: the upper part of the human body, or the front or
upper part of the body of an animal, typically separated
from the rest of the body by a neck, and containing the
brain, mouth, and sense organs.
Heart: a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood
through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction
and dilation. In vertebrates there may be up to four
chambers (as in humans), with two atria and two
ventricles.
Holiday: a day of festivity or recreation when no work is
done.
Hold: grasp, carry, or support with one's arms or hands.
Hug : squeeze (someone) tightly in one's arms, typically
to express affection.
Jam: squeeze or pack tightly into a specified space.
Labor: work, especially hard physical work.
Liberty: the state of being free within society from
oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's
way of life, behavior, or political views
Line: a long, narrow mark or band.
Maroon: of a brownish-crimson color.
Marry: join in marriage.
Messenger: a person who carries a message or is
employed to carry messages.
Old man: an elderly male person.
Over-all: taking everything into account.
Painter: an artist who paints pictures.
Fake: A single turn of rope when a rope is coiled down.
Fender: Canvas, wood or rope used over the side to
protect a vessel from chafing when alongside another
vessel or a dock
Foul: Jammed, not clear
Founder: To sink (out of control).
Gear: The general name for ropes, blocks and tackles,
tools, etc. (things).
Hail: To address a vessel, to come from, as to hail from
some port (call).
Head: The ship's water closet (toilet or wash-room). The
upper edge of a quadrilateral sail.
Heart: The inside center strand of rope.
Holiday: An imperfection, spots left unfinished in cleaning
or painting.
Hold: The space below decks utilized for the stowage of
cargo and stores.
Hug: To keep close.
Jam: To wedge tight.
Labor: A vessel is said to labor when she works heavily
in a seaway (pounding, panting, hogging and sagging).
Liberty: Permission to be absent from the ship for a short
period (authorized absence).
Line: A general term for light rope.
Maroon: To put a person ashore with no means of
returning.
Marry: To temporarily sew the ends of two ropes
together for rendering through a block. Also to grip
together parts of a fall to prevent running out. To marry
strands to prepare for splicing.
Messenger: A light line used for hauling over a heavier
rope or cable.
Old man: The captain of the ship.
Over-all: The extreme deck fore and aft measurement of
a vessel.
Painter: A short piece of rope secured in the bow of a

Part: a piece or segment of something such as an object,
activity, or period of time, which combined with other
pieces makes up the whole.
Pay: give (someone) money that is due for work done,
goods received, or a debt incurred.
Pile: a heap of things laid or lying one on top of another.
Pin: a thin piece of metal with a sharp point at one end
and a round head at the other, used especially for
fastening pieces of cloth.
Pitch: the quality of a sound governed by the rate of
vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or
lowness of a tone.
Play: engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation
rather than a serious or practical purpose.
Port: a town or city with a harbor where ships load or
unload, especially one where customs officers are
stationed.
Rake: an implement consisting of a pole with a crossbar
toothed like a comb at the end, or with several tines held
together by a crosspiece, used especially for drawing
together cut grass or fallen leaves, or smoothing loose
soil or gravel.
Reef: a ridge of jagged rock, coral, or sand just above or
below the surface of the sea.
Ride: sit on and control the movement of (an animal,
especially a horse), typically as a recreation or sport.
Right: morally good, justified, or acceptable.
Scale: each of the small, thin horny or bony plates
protecting the skin of fish and reptiles, typically
overlapping one another.
Seize: take hold of suddenly and forcibly.
Settle: resolve or reach an agreement about (an
argument or problem).
Sheet: a large rectangular piece of cotton or other fabric,
used on a bed to cover the mattress and as a layer
beneath blankets when these are used.
Shell: the hard protective outer case of a mollusk or
crustacean.
Ship: a vessel larger than a boat for transporting people
or goods by sea.
Slip: slide unintentionally for a short distance, typically
losing one's balance or footing.
Swell: become larger or rounder in size, typically as a
result of an accumulation of fluid.
small boat used for making her fast.
Part: To break.
Pay: To fill the seams of a vessel with pitch.
Pile: A pointed spar driven into the bottom and projecting
above the water; when driven at the corners of a dock,
they are termed fender piles.
Pin: The metal axle of a block upon which the sheave
revolves.
Pitch: A tar substance obtained from the pine tree and
used in paying the seams of a vessel. Motion of vessel.
Play: Freedom of movement.
Port: The left side of the ship.
Rake: The angle of a vessel's masts from the vertical.
Reef: To reduce the area of a sail by making fast the reef
points (used in rough weather).
Ride: To lie at anchor; to ride out; to safely weather a
storm whether at anchor or underway.
Right: To return to a normal position, as a vessel righting
after heeling over.
Scale: To climb up. A formation of rust over iron or steel
plating.
Seize: To bind with small rope.
Settle: To lower, sink deeper.
Sheet: The rope used to spread the clew of head sails
and to control the boom of boom sails.
Shell: The casing of a block within which the sheave
revolves.
Ship: To enlist; to send on board cargo; to put in place;
to take on board
Slip: To let go by unshackling, as a cable.
Swell: A large wave.
Trick: a cunning or skillful act or scheme intended to
deceive or outwit someone.
Trim: make (something) neat or of the required size or
form by cutting away irregular or unwanted parts.
Trip: catch one's foot on something and stumble or fall.
Umbrella: a device consisting of a circular canopy of
cloth on a folding metal frame supported by a central rod,
used as protection against rain or sometimes sun.
Unbend: make or become straight from a bent or twisted
form or position.
Waist: the part of the human body below the ribs and
above the hips.
Wake: emerge or cause to emerge from a state of sleep;
stop sleeping.
Waste: use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no
purpose.
Weigh: find out how heavy (someone or something) is,
typically using scales.
Wiper: a device used to remove rain, snow, ice and
debris from a vehicle's front window.
Trick: The period of time during which the wheelsman
remains at the wheel.
Trim: The angle to the horizontal at which a vessel rides.
Trip: To let go.
Umbrella: The cone-shaped shield at the top of the
smokestack.
Unbend: To untie.
Waist: The portion of the deck between the forecastle
and quarterdeck of a sailing vessel.
Wake: A vessel's track through the water.
Waste: Cotton yarn used for cleaning purposes.
Weigh: Lift anchor off the bottom.
Wiper: A general handyman in the engine room.