a structure that spans and provides a passage over a road, railway, river, or some other obstacle
2.
something that resembles this in shape or function
his letters provided a bridge across the centuries
3.
a.
the hard ridge at the upper part of the nose, formed by the underlying nasal bones
b.
any anatomical ridge or connecting structure
Compare pons
4.
the part of a pair of glasses that rests on the nose
5. Also called: bridgework
a dental plate containing one or more artificial teeth that is secured to the surrounding natural teeth
6.
a platform athwartships and above the rail, from which a ship is piloted and navigated
7.
a piece of wood, usually fixed, supporting the strings of a violin, guitar, etc, and transmitting their vibrations to the sounding board
8. Also called: bridge passage
a passage in a musical, literary, or dramatic work linking two or more important sections
9. Also called: bridge circuit electronics
any of several networks, such as a Wheatstone bridge, consisting of two branches across which a measuring device is connected. The resistance, capacitance, etc, of one component can be determined from the known values of the others when the voltage in each branch is balanced
10. computing
a device that connects networks and sends packets between them
11. billiards, snooker
a.
a support for a cue made by placing the fingers on the table and raising the thumb
b.
a cue rest with a notched end for shots beyond normal reach
12. theatre
a.
a platform of adjustable height above or beside the stage for the use of stagehands, light operators, etc
b. mainly British
a part of the stage floor that can be raised or lowered
13.
a partition in a furnace or boiler to keep the fuel in place
14. build bridges
15. burn one's bridges
16. cross a bridge when one comes to it
verb(transitive)
17.
to build or provide a bridge over something; span
to bridge a river
18.
to connect or reduce the distance between
let us bridge our differences
Derived forms
bridgeable (ˈbridgeable) or bridgable (ˈbridgable)
adjective
bridgeless (ˈbridgeless)
adjective
Word origin
Old English brycg; related to Old Norse bryggja gangway, Old Frisian bregge, Old High German brucka, Danish, Swedish bro