What's the difference between breakwater and scupper?

Breakwater


Definition:

  • (n.) Any structure or contrivance, as a mole, or a wall at the mouth of a harbor, to break the force of waves, and afford protection from their violence.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The breakwater was ultimately completed after much delay and extra expense.
  • (2) The beaches are sandy and pleasant for sitting on at low tide, with breakwaters every 100 metres or so that also act as windbreaks.
  • (3) A meeting meant to reassure Cornish householders over plans for his private company, Shire Oak, to reopen a quarry near the Lizard peninsula to provide rock for the Swansea Bay breakwater, only seemed to reinforce opposition.
  • (4) Last year alone, the island, not much bigger than a breakwater in the Oslo fjord, played host to visitors from 25 international media organisations, all keen to find out the secret of Nilsen's success.
  • (5) Reefs also play a crucial role as natural breakwaters, protecting coastlines from storms.
  • (6) "The collapsed wall has been shored up with material salvaged from the damaged section, a temporary breakwater made of shipping containers filled with waste has been erected off the coast, removal of the damaged platform continues, and work is estimated to be completed by 18 March," he said.
  • (7) Until the late 1980s, nestled behind the Yan Ma Tei breakwater in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay, you could find tens of thousands of boat-dwellers who formed a bustling, floating district.
  • (8) Public broadcaster NHK showed images of a large ship ramming into a breakwater in Kennuma city, Miyagi prefecture.
  • (9) To protect the site, 15 steel containers – weighing around 70 tonnes each – have been installed as temporary breakwater, and a scaffold bridge has been built to reconnect services and signalling equipment.
  • (10) Global warming, overfishing and human intervention – especially breakwaters that protect sandy beaches but provide a home for larvae – are all blamed.
  • (11) Chelsea’s Guus Hiddink envious of squad options available to PSG Read more Still, though, at times it was hard to avoid the impression as PSG’s attacks crashed against the Chelsea breakwaters that Ibrahimovic’s best qualities – virtuoso touches, the irresistible imperative that the team play through him – are less likely to unsettle the stronger teams in Europe than they are the routinely terrorised defences of Ligue 1.
  • (12) Breakwaters that made up the typhoon shelter also limited water circulation, leaving pollution to accumulate in the harbour .
  • (13) The project, which envisages an area of 11.5 sq km cordoned off by a breakwater, would have an installed capacity of 320MW with an annual output of 420GWh and a design life of 120 years.
  • (14) A public authority building a breakwater and other harbour facilities at a small seaport (population 3000) had short-term requirements for 261,000 tonnes of rock and ultimately for 1,000,000 tonnes.
  • (15) The Cornish stone would be used to build a six-mile long breakwater in Swansea amid hopes of generating significant shipping volumes in a newly-created marine conservation zone.
  • (16) When working to build big cement breakwaters, he slept on top of a container just off the coastal highway.
  • (17) In 2003 Eitan became logistics manager for a project to extend Ashdod's port breakwater, which is where he drowned.

Scupper


Definition:

  • (v.) An opening cut through the waterway and bulwarks of a ship, so that water falling on deck may flow overboard; -- called also scupper hole.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Given how Bank forecasts have been all over the shop, it is possible that the Old Lady's spreadsheet wizards could scupper Mr Carney's plans by spying a speck of price pressure and panicking about it turning into a giant inflationary boulder.
  • (2) First, there are major vested interests, such as large corporations, foreign billionaires and libel lawyers, who will attempt to scupper reform.
  • (3) In public Cameron and others trumpet the benefits of regulation while behind the scenes the government uses Machiavellian manoeuvres to scupper the regulations and silence the concerns of other member states."
  • (4) Blatter and Platini are also subject to investigation over the same payment by Fifa’s ethics committee, meaning both could imminently be suspended, which would scupper Platini’s candidacy to be elected Fifa president when Blatter steps down in February .
  • (5) His arrival is likely to conclude the bulk of José Mourinho's incoming business in this window, scuppering the Colombia international Fredy Guarín's hopes of joining from Internazionale.
  • (6) Republicans, who have majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, could scupper Obama’s plan to close Guantánamo Bay by the end of his second term.
  • (7) I've been ultra-critical of her in recent days, dismissing Abbott as one of the unreconstructed Labour tribalists who had scuppered any prospects of a post-election deal with the Liberal Democrats and a new "rainbow coalition" of the centre-left.
  • (8) The lack of consensus in the opposition Liberal party stymied Friday's Senate vote on the issue, scuppering the government's aims.
  • (9) While the BBC tie-up has been championed by Thompson, in an attempt to scupper other options such as top-slicing the licence fee, some within the corporation have expressed reservations.
  • (10) The idea of a carbon tax will also garner support among progressives who were left deflated after Obama’s initial attempts to institute a national cap-and-trade carbon system were scuppered by Republican opposition.
  • (11) Security sources told the Guardian that at least three rescue attempts had been scuppered.
  • (12) The deal immediately raised questions about Mr Malone's plans - some analysts have speculated as to whether he is planning a takeover bid and whether the move could scupper Mr Murdoch's succession plans involving his sons James and Lachlan.
  • (13) Soon she could return to the front pages in a more controversial role – when she stands up in court to represent Muammar Gaddafi's notorious spy chief in a case that could scupper the reputation of the international criminal court.
  • (14) Mayer writes: “Sources say internal conflicts scuppered the scheme after it was already significantly advanced, wasting money instead of saving it.” The cost was between £100,000 and £200,000, the Times reported.
  • (15) Schneiderlin saw a move to Tottenham scuppered last year as Southampton refused to sanction the transfer, insisting he stay on for another season.
  • (16) It's almost funny when you think about it – all those European bureaucrats beavering away over the minutiae of the trade deal, and then along comes Putin with a sack of cash and scuppers the whole thing in a matter of minutes.
  • (17) Sources involved in the talks, which broke down on 29 January, claim that the BMA scuppered a deal that would have ended the dispute by failing to agree that only Saturday mornings up until 1pm would become part of the working week.
  • (18) The UK must "show some backbone" and push for a strong global arms trade treaty even if that means standing up to Washington and America's powerful gun lobby, which is determined to scupper an agreement, campaigners have urged.
  • (19) But the most dramatic rebellion was staged two months later on July 22 when the Tory outcasts attempted to scupper the treaty by voting with Labour in favour of the European social chapter.
  • (20) Either I left or Interpol would scupper my platform, they said.