noun
ways
Parallel supports along which a ship slides into the water.
The new ship rests on the ways before its launch.
Etymology
A way is a path of movement. Shipbuilding uses the plural for the paired supports that provide the vessel's launching path.
More examples
- Workers inspected the ways beneath the hull.
- The vessel slid smoothly down the ways into the harbor.
- Heavy timber supports formed the launching ways.
Forms
ways