[plim-suh
l, -sohl] 
| 1. | Also called Plimsoll line. any of various lines marked on the sides of a cargo vessel to indicate the depth to which a vessel may be immersed under certain conditions. Compare freeboard (def. 1a). |
| 2. | the line made by the surface of the water on the hull of a loaded ship. |
| Plim·soll mark (plĭm'səl, -sôl') n. Any of a set of lines on the hull of a merchant ship that indicate the depth to which it may be legally loaded under specified conditions. Also called load line, Plimsoll line. [After Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898), British merchant and shipping reformer.] |