Plimsoll
Noun: 1. A light sports shoe with a rubber sole and a canvas upper: A type of casual, low-top shoe, often used for physical education or as general leisure footwear. 2. (Also Plimsoll line, Plimsoll mark) A marking on a ship's hull indicating the maximum safe loading level: A set of lines and markings painted on the side of a ship to show the various legal waterlines under different conditions (e.g., fresh water, salt water, winter, summer).
- Noun (Shoe):
- The children wore white plimsolls for their gym class.
- He prefers classic canvas plimsolls to modern sneakers.
- Noun (Shipping Mark):
- The ship's captain ensured the cargo load did not submerge the Plimsoll line.
- Inspectors checked the vessel's plimsoll mark to verify it was not overloaded.
- "Plimsoll line": The full, formal term for the loading mark on a ship. It is named after Samuel Plimsoll, a British MP who campaigned for the law requiring such marks to prevent overloading.
- The international regulations for the Plimsoll line are set by the International Maritime Organization.
- Plimsoll mark: Another term for the .
- Load line: A more general synonym for .
- Sneaker, trainer, gym shoe: General terms for athletic shoes, of which a plimsoll is a specific, simple type.
- (For the shoe): Gym shoe, dap (UK regional), sandshoe (Australia).
- (For the mark): Load line, international load line, waterline mark.
- "At the Plimsoll line": Used figuratively to mean at full capacity or at a critical limit.
- After the holiday feast, I felt I was at the Plimsoll line.
The two meanings of "plimsoll" are entirely distinct. The connection is visual: the band where the canvas upper meets the rubber sole on the shoe was thought to resemble the waterline marked on a ship's hull. The shoe meaning is common in British English, while the shipping term is technical and used internationally in maritime contexts.
- a light gym shoe with a rubber sole and a canvas top
- waterlines to show the level the water should reach when the ship is properly loaded