ullage

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

ullage

/ˈʌl.ɪd͡ʒ/
/ˈʌl.əd͡ʒ/
/ˈjul.ɪd͡ʒ/
/ˈjul.əd͡ʒ/

Rhymes with -ʌlɪdʒ

Where it comes from

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.

noun ullages

countable, uncountable In a wine bottle, the empty space between the cork and the top of the wine.
countable, uncountable 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.
countable, uncountable The topping up of such a barrel with fresh wine.
Similar: ulling
countable, uncountable 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.
countable, uncountable 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[…]
countable, in plural, obsolete, slang, uncountable 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.

verb ullages · ullaging · 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 […]

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"ullage." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ullage. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ullage. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ullage

Chicago

"ullage." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ullage.

BibTeX

@misc{ullage_2026,
  title = {ullage},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ullage},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}