Deck Meaning
/ˈdɛk/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAny raised flat surface that can be walked on: a balcony; a porch; a raised patio; a flat rooftop.
nounThe floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship or boat. Small vessels have only one deck; larger ships have two or three decks.
Sentence Examples
Place the deck of cards on the oaken table.
I went on deck from my cabin.
I was the only person on deck at that time of night.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He washed the wooden ____ of the ship with a stiff brush.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Place the ____ of cards on the oaken table.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English dekke, borrowed from Middle Dutch dec (“roof, covering”), from Middle Dutch decken, from Old Dutch thecken, from Proto-West Germanic *þakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *þakjaną. Formed the same: German Decke (“covering, blanket”). Doublet of thatch and thack.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers,[…]. Even such a boat as the Mount Vernon offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either."
— 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
"If there's a strapline or subdeck, write these after the main deck and don't use the same words."
— 2005, Richard Keeble, Print Journalism: A Critical Introduction, page 114:
"Navigate to the location where your PowerPoint deck is stored and select it."
— 2011, David Kroenke, Donald Nilson, Office 365 in Business:
"The interaction model of WAP, originally developed for mobile phones to interact with information services in a web-like way, was based on Apple's HyperCard, and instead of pages, the user interacted with a deck of cards, which were interlinked by a scripting language."
— 2008, Johan Hjelm, Why IPTV?: Interactivity, Technologies, Services, page 13:
"A paper-blurrer, who on all occasions, / For all times, and all season, hath such trinkets / Ready in the deck"
— 1655, Philip Massinger, The Guardian, act III, scene iii:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He washed the wooden ____ of the ship with a stiff brush.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Place the ____ of cards on the oaken table.