A derrick is a machine that is used to move cargo on a ship by lifting it in the air.
2. countable noun
A derrick is a tower built over an oil well which is used to raise and lower the drill.
derrick in British English
(ˈdɛrɪk)
noun
1.
a simple crane having lifting tackle slung from a boom
2.
the framework erected over an oil well to enable drill tubes to be raised and lowered
verb
3.
to raise or lower the jib of (a crane)
Word origin
C17 (in the sense: gallows): from Derrick, name of a celebrated hangman at Tyburn
derrick in American English
(ˈdɛrɪk)
noun
1.
a large apparatus for lifting and moving heavy objects: it consists of a long beam pivoted at the base of a vertical, stationary beam and moved by ropes running on pulleys
2. US
a tall, tapering framework, as over an oil well, to support drilling machinery, etc.
Word origin
after Thos. Derrick, London hangman of the early 17th c.: first applied to a gallows
derrick in American English
(ˈderɪk)
noun
1. Machinery
a jib crane having a boom hinged near the base of the mast so as to rotate about the mast, for moving a load toward or away from the mast by raising or lowering the boom
2. Also called: oil derrick
the towerlike framework over an oil well or the like
3.
a boom for lifting cargo, pivoted at its inner end to a ship's mast or kingpost, and raised and supported at its outer end by topping lifts
transitive verb or intransitive verb
4. Machinery
luff
Word origin
[orig. a hangman, the gallows, after the surname of a well-known Tyburn hangman, ca.1600]
derrick in the Oil and Gas Industry
(dɛrɪk)
Word forms: (regular plural) derricks
noun
(Extractive engineering: Field development, Drilling)
A derrick is the structure over an oil well which supports the drilling equipment and allows it to be lifted into and out of the wellbore.
A derrick is a wooden or steel structure built over a well site to provide support for thedrilling equipment and a tall mast for raising and lowering drillpipe and casing.
A drilling rig includes a tall tower called a derrick and all the machinery that raises and lowers the drilling equipment.
A derrick is the structure over an oil well that supports the drilling equipment and allowsit to be lifted into and out of the wellbore.
Parts of a derrickThe following are all parts of a derrick.crown blockstabbing boardtraveling blockvee-door
Examples of 'derrick' in a sentence
derrick
This was swung up on the derrick, the barge closed up, the piece deposited in it.
Gagman, Maurice DOUBTFUL MOTIVES (2001)
I stood by with the bridge phone, Morrison had the derrick crew ready.
Gagman, Maurice DOUBTFUL MOTIVES (2001)
The derrick was canted well over and, if necessary, he could increase his height and simply reel out more cable.
Lunnon-Wood, Mike LET NOT THE DEEP (2001)
He parked the pickup beside the stark angles of the old derrick he would use as a drilling tower.