abutment
/əˈbʌtm(ə)nt
/noun
1A structure built to support the lateral pressure of an arch or span, e.g. at the ends of a bridge: the first bridge was of timber with stone abutments...
- It has been inserted into the stone abutment of a railway bridge which, long demolished, once spanned the river Serein.
- Various foundation types have been adopted to support the bridge piers and abutments.
- Richard Robidoux, the project manager for E. D. Swett, Inc., said a hundred piles were driven to a depth of between 120 and 160 feet for the bridge abutments.
1.1 [mass noun] The process of supporting something with an abutment: efficient abutment is needed at this point...
- The design called for this kind of abutment in several places which gave me a bit of grief down the road, since what actually happens on a site will vary from the most carefully drawn plans.
1.2A point at which something abuts against something else: a mirror with a delicate border of engraved blue glass in ten sections, each abutment masked by a thin metal strip
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