caisson disease

noun

Definition of caisson disease

: decompression sickness

Note: The name caisson disease stems from the occurrence of decompression sickness in individuals working on tunnel and bridge construction in underwater caissons filled with compressed air.

See caisson disease defined for kids

Recent Examples of caisson disease from the Web

Readers will be shocked to learn that Washington Roebling contracted caisson disease soon after construction began, forcing him to work from his bed while his wife worked at the site.

— michael sangiacomo, cleveland.com, "Bendis speaks, via Skype, at Philly comic con (video)," 1 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'caisson disease.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of caisson disease

1873

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Medical Dictionary

caisson disease

noun cais·son disease \ ˈkā-ˌsän-, ˈkās-ᵊn-; British often kə-ˈsün- \

medical Definition of caisson disease

: decompression sickness

Learn More about caisson disease

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about caisson disease

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up caisson disease? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

gaffer

play

a lighting electrician on a movie set

BROWSE DICTIONARY

caisson

caisson crib

caisson disease

Caithness

caitiff

Test Your Vocabulary

The Eponym Quiz

Which is the best synonym of bowdlerize?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games