Dunnage

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Scrap material, often wood, used to fill spaces to prevent the shifting of more valuable items during transport, or underneath large or heavy items to raise them slightly above the ground, in order to protect from chafing and wet.
  • Grammar: dunnage is listed as noun.
  • Nearest alternatives: apparatus, baggage, duffel, gear.
  • Usage evidence: When you have got your junks wormed and laid up, take each two pieces, and stop them together; double the middle pieces, and stop them also, and clap a good stop on, to form the eye: then bring them all together upon some dunnage, to keep them up from the deck, to enable you to pass your round-about lashings:

How to use "dunnage"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dunnage" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dunnage" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dunnage" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dunnage" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "dunnage" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "apparatus" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "dunnage", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Scrap material, often wood, used to fill spaces to prevent the shifting of more valuable items during transport, or underneath large or heavy items to raise them slightly above the ground, in order to protect from chafing and wet. uncountable, usually

    "When you have got your junks wormed and laid up, take each two pieces, and stop them together; double the middle pieces, and stop them also, and clap a good stop on, to form the eye: then bring them all together upon some dunnage, to keep them up from the deck, to enable you to pass your round-about lashings:"

  2. 2
    A charge levied for materials or equipment left on site. uncountable, usually

    "The fact that the bakery was paying dunnage on the loaded car until May 25th and that it was not unloaded until after May 21, 1959, is proof that […]"

  3. 3
    Personal effects; baggage. uncountable, usually

    "The place had the empty and musty feel and smell usual to a dwelling no longer inhabited. Everywhere was a thick litter of discarded and ragged garments, old sea-boots, leaky oilskins -- all the worthless forecastle dunnage of a long voyage."

Example

"When you have got your junks wormed and laid up, take each two pieces, and stop them together; double the middle pieces, and stop them also, and clap a good stop on, to form the eye: then bring them all together upon some dunnage, to keep them up from the deck, to enable you to pass your round-about lashings:"

Common questions

What does "dunnage" mean?

Scrap material, often wood, used to fill spaces to prevent the shifting of more valuable items during transport, or underneath large or heavy items to raise them slightly above the ground, in order to protect from chafing and wet.

What is a synonym for "dunnage"?

Common synonyms include: apparatus, baggage, duffel, gear, impedimenta, luggage.

How do you use "dunnage" in a sentence?

When you have got your junks wormed and laid up, take each two pieces, and stop them together; double the middle pieces, and stop them also, and clap a good stop on, to form the eye: then bring them all together upon some dunnage, to keep them up from the deck, to enable you to pass your round-about lashings:

More for "dunnage"