derrick

noun

der·rick ˈder-ik

ˈde-rik

: a hoisting apparatus employing a tackle rigged at the end of a beam

: a framework or tower over a deep drill hole (as of an oil well) for supporting boring tackle or for hoisting and lowering

Did you know?

During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, London was the home of a notorious executioner named Derick. Among those he beheaded was the Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux, who supposedly had once saved the life of the ungrateful executioner. While members of the nobility were accorded the courtesy of beheading, it was the lot of commoners to be hanged, and those sent to face the rope at the hands of the executioner Derick nicknamed the gallows after him. Today, derrick is commonly used for a framework, but one that supports equipment used in drilling for oil.

Examples of derrick in a Sentence

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Not long afterward, a derrick anchored offshore and began clawing apart the bluff, clouding Lake Michigan as neighbors, standing on tiptoes, held their phones above the privacy netting and gaped. —

Ben Ryder Howe, Curbed, 7 Aug. 2024 Gibson and his team envisioned Kuwait, where the derricks had been set on fire and everything was stained with sulfur and black. —

Bill Desowitz, IndieWire, 20 July 2024 In the 1910s, bombs detonated with regularity at nonunion construction sites — bridges, viaducts, rail yards, foundries, derricks — and proved an effective tactic in winning union contracts. —

Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2024 Cefalu remembers that a barge bearing a derrick broke away from its moorings during a weekend storm and imperiled one of the bridge’s piers. —

Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for derrick