oakum
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Wikipedia.
oakum
loose fibre obtained by unravelling old rope, used esp for caulking seams in wooden ships
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Oakum
a short, entangled, unspinnable fiber that contains a lot of shive. Oakum is obtained during the primary treatment of flax and hemp (breaking and scutching). Oakum frequently is processed into slivers and impregnated with tar. It is used in civil engineering work and has various other industrial uses.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
oakum
[′ōk·əm] (materials)
Old hemp or jute fiber, loosely twisted and impregnated with tar or a tar derivative, used to caulk sides and decks of ships and to pack joints of pipes and caissons.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
oakum
A caulking material made from old hemp rope fibers that have been treated with tar.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.