| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| bridge1 |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  br j |
| NOUN: | 1. A structure spanning and providing passage over a gap or barrier, such as a river or roadway. 2. Something resembling or analogous to this structure in form or function: a land bridge between the continents; a bridge of understanding between two countries. 3a. The upper bony ridge of the human nose. b. The part of a pair of eyeglasses that rests against this ridge. 4. A fixed or removable replacement for one or several but not all of the natural teeth, usually anchored at each end to a natural tooth. 5. Music a. A thin, upright piece of wood in some stringed instruments that supports the strings above the soundboard. b. A transitional passage connecting two subjects or movements. 6. Nautical A crosswise platform or enclosed area above the main deck of a ship from which the ship is controlled. 7. Games a. A long stick with a notched plate at one end, used to steady the cue in billiards. Also called rest1. b. The hand used as a support to steady the cue. 8. Electricity a. Any of various instruments for measuring or comparing the characteristics, such as impedance or inductance, of a conductor. b. An electrical shunt. 9. Chemistry An intramolecular connection that spans atoms or groups of atoms. | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: bridged, bridg·ing, bridg·es
1. To build a bridge over. 2. To cross by or as if by a bridge. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English brigge, from Old English brycg. See bhr - in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | bridge a·ble —ADJECTIVE
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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