keel (redirected from keels)

keel¹

1. one of the main longitudinal structural members of a vessel to which the frames are fastened and that may extend into the water to provide lateral stability

2. any structure corresponding to or resembling the keel of a ship, such as the central member along the bottom of an aircraft fuselage

3. Biology a ridgelike part; carina

---

keel² Eastern English dialect

1. a flat-bottomed vessel, esp one used for carrying coal

2. a measure of coal equal to about 21 tons

---

keel

a fatal disease of young ducks, characterized by intestinal bleeding caused by Salmonella bacteria

---

keel [kēl]

(naval architecture)

A steel beam or timber, or a series of steel beams and plates or timbers joined together, extending along the center of the bottom of a ship from stem to stern and often projecting below the bottom, to which the frames and hull plating are attached.

(vertebrate zoology)

The median ridge on the breastbone in certain birds. Also known as carina.

---

Keel [kēl]

(astronomy)

Carina