Meanings
plural Nissen huts
- IrelandUKA prefabricated building, formerly used by the military, having a semicircular roof of corrugated iron.
A group of six men could erect a Nissen hut in just four hours. Its design could be easily modified for a range of uses such as hospitals, kitchens, drying rooms and bathhouses.
2015, James Campbell et al., editors, Studies in Construction History, →ISBN, page 2441 more example
A row of original, large and life-expired MoD 'wriggly tin' Nissen huts close to the Rail Live entrance haven't simply been reskinned, they have been replaced with new, modern equivalents to the original design.
2023 May 31, Nigel Harris, “The Rail Live story...”, in RAIL, number 984, page 36
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna prefabricated hut of corrugated iron having a semicircular cross section
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Named after Canadian engineer Peter Norman Nissen (1871–1930).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Nissen hut. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Nissen%20hut
“Nissen hut.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Nissen%20hut. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Nissen hut,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Nissen%20hut.
Source: Nissen hut on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.