below decks

below decks

1. (nautical) In or into any of the spaces below the main deck of a vessel.
   • 1817, Maria Edgeworth, chapter 31, in Ormond:

     [O]n the wind shifting and becoming more violent, the landsmen soon retired below decks.

   • 1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 8, in The Gods of Mars:

     Phaidor and I were taken below decks, where, still fast bound, we were thrown into a small compartment which contained a single port-hole.

• lower deck