waterbreak

From water +‎ break.

waterbreak (countable and uncountable, plural waterbreaks)

1. (countable, obsolete) A pothole or similar break in a road's surface caused by rainwater washing away the surface of the road.
   • 1908, Motor Age - Volume 14, page 13:

     Many of the entrants drove unusually reckless down the mountains and the unexpected waterbreaks jarred their cars more than 100 miles of rational touring.

   • 1910, Motor World Wholesale - Volumes 22-23, page 770:

     Guessing the number of jolts which they received in the 72 miles which were studded with waterbreaks, ruts and gullies would have been a more appropriate mental exercise for the contestants in the Delaware Automobile Association of Wilmington's sealed time or "guessability" run on Saturday, 25th inst.

   • 1915, Gedion Harris & Associates, Audels Automobile Guide:

     When passing little breaks in the road, caused by water running off and carrying the road material with it, the shock of striking the edges is rather severe on tires and may be lessened by releasing the clutch for the moment and allowing the car to coast, always taking " waterbreaks " and similar rough spots straight on, so as not to strain the car unnecessarily.

2. (countable) A breakwater.
   • 1968, Beautiful Korea, page 594:

     Since the islet has a 720 meter long waterbreak connecting the land and the islet it attracts many visitors during summertime.

   • 1969, Polish Perspectives - Volume 12, page 80:

     In Gdynia 90 per cent of the waterbreaks, 45 per cent of the quays and nearly all the warehouses were destroyed; in Gdansk the corresponding figure for waterbreaks and quays was 20 per cent and the warehouses and virtually all the handling equipment ceased to exist.

   • 2004, Tomotoshi Okaichi, Red Tides, page 367:

     The bay has a high waterbreak equipped with a 200 m wide and 40 m deep opening for water exchange, to prevent high tsunami waves at the mouth.

3. (countable) A barrier built across a steeply sloping road or trail in order to direct the flow of water and prevent erosion.
   • 1937, Construction of Trails, page 20:

     A waterbreak should be extended far enough into the bank on the upper side of the trail to prevent water from cutting around it.

   • 1976, Mary Robinson Sive, Environmental legislation: a sourcebook, page 321:

     The following guidelines shall be considered in determining reasonable waterbreak or culvert intervals: (1) On grades of 10 percent or less, intervals of 100 to 200 feet; (2) On grades of 11 to 25 percent, intervals of 75 to 150 feet; ...

   • 1981, Klaus Berkmüller, Guidelines and Techniques for Environmental Interpretation, page 19:

     A simple round log embedded in the trail surface as a waterbreak may save you many repairs.

   • 2012, California Forest Practice Rules, page 63:

     The appropriate waterbreak spacing shall be based upon the erosion hazard rating and road or trail gradient.

4. (countable, more generally) Any artificially constructed system or device to halt the destructive flow of water.
   • 1943, P. Alston Waring, Walter Magnes Teller, Roots in the earth: the small farmer looks ahead, page 91:

     Later, about 75 years ago, Ralph's grandfather built "waterbreaks" on his farm, which are the nearest things to broad-base terraces you can imagine.

   • 1967, International Association of Scientific Hydrology - Volume 1, page 416:

     Planting of waterbreak cultures on steep deeply submerged banks is not recommended before filling the reservoir, as they are doomed to death due to proceeding wash-out.

   • 1991, Bev Ortiz, It Will Live Forever, page 102:

     In preparation for further leaching, a waterbreak is made to absorb the force of leaching water as it is poured atop the acorn, preventing holes from forming in the meal, and thereby insuring even leaching.

5. (countable) The time elapsed from an underwater explosion or seismic event until the arrival of the resulting energy wave at a hydrophonic detector.
   • 1969, Petroleum Times - Volume 73, page 251:

     Included in the display will be an active underwater buoy, a depth sensor waterbreak hydrophones unit, and a waterbreak converter.

   • 1971, P. Legrand, A. Clement, R. Peraldi, Over 7000-mile Offshore Refraction Survey in the Hudson Bay:

     Waterbreak times are plotted along the X-axis, and along the Y-axis the number of records corresponding to those times; this is repeated for each of the 4 waterbreak hydrophones, positioned on traces 1, 15, 31, and 47, as set up on the streamer used in 1970.

   • 1978, Offshore Technology Conference, Proceedings - Issues 1-2, page 639:

     Depth-transducer/waterbreak section - contains depth-detector unit and waterbreak hydrophone.

6. (uncountable) The formation of beads of water on a smooth surface, especially when used as an indicator of impurities on the surface.
   • 1960, American Electroplaters' Society, Proceedings of the Convention, page 92:

     A slurry of 10 grams of powder in 100 milliliters distilled water was carried on a cotton swab and the panels scrubbed until free from waterbreak when rinsed.

   • 1979, Lee Scott Newman, Jay Hartley Newman, Electroplating and electroforming, page 33:

     As a final test of whether the base object has been cleaned of all dirt and grease, observe the form carefully while it is being rinsed to observe the waterbreak. If the water runs smoothly over the object in a uniform sheet there is no waterbreak, and the form is probably sufficiently clean to plate.

   • 1980, Plating and Surface Finishing - Volume 67, Issues 1-6, page 21:

     In general, the accepted method of determining surface cleanliness in the painting industry is to examine the surface for waterbreak.

7. (countable) A break in the smooth surface of a body of water, such as a ripple, whitecap, or the roughness that results from water flowing over an uneven surface.
   • 1854, Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The Brook”, in A Poetry Book for Children:

     And here and there a foamy flake Upon me, as I travel With many a silvery waterbreak Above the golden gravel,...

   • 1862, Eneas Sweetland Dallas, Once a Week - Volume 7, page 532:

     In one place, the ony point we have found a break, the central portion of the cliff opens back, on either hand, into a low alluvial valley; where the marigolds, as we are informed, in spring time burn like fiery stars amid the rank marsh-grasses; and out of this a famous trout-stream comes gliding, slipping down from musical waterbreak to waterbreak, and then away quietly over the yellow sands to the sea.

   • 1911, Arthur Christopher Benson, The Leaves of the Tree: Studies in Biography, page 326:

     ...and it does not detract from their charm that they are evidently the work of one who is somewhat weary of the journey, who would like to slip out of the heat and dust and lie down like a tired child in the cool and crystal waterway that creeps, a thread of silver, over the moor, with all its ribbons of trailing weed, its still pools and sunny waterbreaks.

   • 1967, John Nichols, The Gentleman's Magazine - Volumes 292-293, page 504:

     On three sides the fields fell down to the Sprint, whose numerous waterbreaks gleamed whitely through fringing birch and coppice.

• break water, breakwater