ullage
/ˈʌl.ɪd͡ʒ/
ullage noun: in a wine bottle, the empty space between the cork and the top of the wine.
Noun
ullage (countable and uncountable, plural ullages)
- In a wine bottle, the empty space between the cork and the top of the wine.
- In a cask or barrel, the empty space, occupied by air, that is created by not completely filling the cask or barrel, or through spillage.
- The dry ullage will be obtained in the same manner, the dry inches being used instead of the wet.1840, Joseph Bateman, The Excise Officer's Manual and Improved Gauger
- The topping up of such a barrel with fresh wine.
- Synonyms:
- ulling
- In an industrial setting, the empty space in a tank, especially as for fuel.
- Upon completion of loading, all cargo tanks shall again be inspected and ullages carefully measured and recorded, with temperatures, in the Cargo Record Book, Port Log and Supplementary Loading and Discharging Report.1950, Marine Regulations, Esso Shipping Company, page 234
- According to the Colombian Government's report regarding this accident, the bomb explosion itself did not compromise the structural integrity of the airplane; however, the explosion punctured the CWT and ignited the Jet A fuel/air vapor in the ullage, resulting in the destruction of the airplane.2000 August 23, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.18.1 Accident Record and History of Fuel Tank Fires/Explosions on Airplanes”, in Aircraft Accident Report: In-flight Breakup Over the Atlantic...
- Additional cargo of little or no value taken on to prevent movement or shifting of the purposive cargo.
- […]5 hhds. rum/ 5 bbls. flour/ 1 bbl. sugar/ 9 do. pork/ 1 do. suett/ 3 do. cocoa/ 6 do. peas/ 2 ullage bbls. vinegar[…]1815 Niles Weekly Register volume 8, Supplement, p. 152. From an inventory of the frigate Confiance
- Leftover wine surreptitiously drunk by waiters as they clear away the glasses.
- Mopps […] was draining his vast array of wine-glasses, lest the waiters carrying them off should find any "ullages" in them for surreptitious tippling on stair-cases.1862, Temple Bar: A London Magazine for Town and Country Readers, page 13
Verb
ullage (third-person singular simple present ullages, present participle ullaging, simple past and past participle ullaged)
- To gauge the amount of empty space between the top of a cask and the level of liquid inside it.
- The Duties on Spirits in England are charged on the number of proof gallons they contain, which is ascertained by first “gauging” or “ullaging” the liquor, and then “trying its strength” by Sike's hydrometer, in the way already described […]1856, Arnold James Cooley, A Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts
Synonyms of ullage
Forms of ullage
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | ullages |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | ullages |
| present participle | ullaging |
| past participle | ullaged |
| past | ullaged |
Origin of ullage
From Middle English ulage, from Anglo-Norman ulliage, from *ullier (“to fill a partially empty cask”), from Old French oel (“bunghole”, literally “eye”), from Latin oculus (“eye”). See French ouillage.
Words formed from ullage
- ullage burn
- ullage gas
- ullage motor
Phrases with ullage
Words that rhyme with ullage
Questions about ullage
- What does ullage mean?
- Ullage means in a wine bottle, the empty space between the cork and the top of the wine.
- What part of speech is ullage?
- Ullage can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce ullage?
- Ullage is pronounced /ˈʌl.ɪd͡ʒ/.
- What is the plural of ullage?
- The plural of ullage is ullages.
Words near ullage in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ullage (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-ullage.wav.
Cite this entry: “ullage.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ullage. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.