1. a contract by which a ship or its cargo is pledged as security for money borrowed to finance a voyage, with the loan repaid only if the ship arrives safely
Usage: nautical; legal; historical

Examples

• The merchant arranged a bottomry bond to finance his trading expedition.
• Under the bottomry agreement, the lender would lose his money if the ship was lost at sea.
• Bottomry contracts were common in maritime commerce during the 18th century.
• The captain signed a bottomry bond using his vessel as collateral.
• Maritime law governed the terms of bottomry arrangements between shipowners and financiers.