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oakum
Part of speech: NounLoose hemp- fiber obtained by untwisting old ropes: used for stopping leaks in boats, etc.
Usage examples "oakum":- The work given is the same as that given to felons in gaol, oakum- picking and stone- breaking. - "In-Darkest-England-and-the-Way-Out", Booth, William.
- I ran below, and lighting a torch of oakum, which I had prepared in readiness, placed it to his hinder quarters as he descended. - "The Pacha of Many Tales", Captain Frederick Marryat.
- We took the old fish- box and placed on the pebbles in it an old saucepan half full of oakum soaked in paraffin. - "A Poor Man's House", Stephen Sydney Reynolds.