bailer
|bail-er|
🇺🇸
/ˈbeɪlər/
🇬🇧
/ˈbeɪlə/
one who or one that removes water
Etymology
'bailer' originates from English formation: the verb 'bail' (from Old French 'baillier') plus the agent suffix '-er', where the Old French root 'baill-' meant 'to hand over, to empty or remove'.
'bail' changed from Old French 'baillier' into Middle English forms like 'bailen' or 'baylen', and English later formed the agent noun 'bailer' (verb 'bail' + '-er') to denote a person or tool that performs the action.
Initially related to the Old French sense of 'handing over' or 'administering', the English forms specialized to senses such as 'to remove water' and so 'bailer' came to mean a device or person that removes water (and, by extension, one who withdraws or abandons).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a container (such as a bucket) or pump used to remove water from a boat, well, or other place.
The crew used a manual bailer to remove the water from the small dinghy.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a person who bails (removes water) from a boat or other place; someone who scoops out or pumps out water.
As waves hit the deck, a bailer frantically worked to keep the boat afloat.
Synonyms
Noun 3
informal: a person who abandons a plan, meeting, or responsibility (one who 'bails' out).
Don't be a bailer — we need everyone at the meeting.
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Last updated: 2026/01/01 17:23