[keel] 
| 1. | Nautical. a central fore-and-aft structural member in the bottom of a hull, extending from the stem to the sternpost and having the floors or frames attached to it, usually at right angles: sometimes projecting from the bottom of the hull to provide stability. |
| 2. | Literary. a ship or boat. |
| 3. | a part corresponding to a ship's keel in some other structure, as in a dirigible balloon. |
| 4. | (initial capital letter ) Astronomy. the constellation Carina. |
| 5. | Botany, Zoology. a longitudinal ridge, as on a leaf or bone; a carina. |
| 6. | Also called brace molding. Architecture. a projecting molding the profile of which consists of two ogees symmetrically disposed about an arris or fillet. |
| 7. | to turn or upset so as to bring the wrong side or part uppermost. |
| 8. | keel over,
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| 9. | on an even keel, in a state of balance; steady; steadily: The affairs of state are seldom on an even keel for long. |