bridge

plural bridges · alternative Northern England Northern Ireland Scotland brig · alternative obsolete bridg · alternative brigge

1. A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
   1. A construction spanning a waterway, ravine, or valley from a height, allowing for the passage of vehicles, pedestrians, trains, etc.

      The rope bridge crosses the river.

      3 more examples

      It was a beautiful view from the Brooklyn Bridge.

      Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: or anon we shot into a clearing, with a colored glimpse of the lake and its curving shore far below us.

      1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

      Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.

      2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28

   2. anatomyThe upper bony ridge of the human nose.

      Rugby players often break the bridge of their noses.

   3. dentistryA prosthesis replacing one or several adjacent teeth.

      The dentist pulled out the decayed tooth and put in a bridge.

   4. bowlingThe gap between the holes on a bowling ball
2. An arch or superstructure.
   1. nauticalAn elevated platform above the upper deck of a mechanically propelled ship from which it is navigated and from which all activities on deck can be seen and controlled by the captain, etc; smaller ships have a wheelhouse, and sailing ships were controlled from a quarterdeck.

      The first officer is on the bridge.

   2. artsThe piece, on string instruments, that supports the strings from the sounding board.
   3. ball gamesA particular form of one hand placed on the table to support the cue when making a shot in cue sports.
   4. ball gamesA cue modified with a convex arch-shaped notched head attached to the narrow end, used to support a player's (shooter's) cue for extended or tedious shots. Also called a spider.
   5. Anything supported at the ends and serving to keep some other thing from resting upon the object spanned, as in engraving, watchmaking, etc., or which forms a platform or staging over which something passes or is conveyed.
   6. governmentA defensive position in which the wrestler is supported by his feet and head, belly-up, in order to prevent touch-down of the shoulders and eventually to dislodge an opponent who has established a position on top.
   7. gymnasticsA similar position in gymnastics.
3. A connection, real or abstract.

   Yes, France is geographically situated in a key position so far as Western Europe is concerned. They are really the bridge between Germany, Spain and Italy. And it was necessary to have a NATO organization that was unified and France was a necessary member of that organization.

   1964, Harry S. Truman, 0:18 from the start, in MP2002-479 Former President Truman Recalls Negotiating With DeGaulle and France after WWII, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162

   1. medicineA rudimentary procedure before definite solution

      ECMO is used as a bridge to surgery to stabilize the patient.

   2. computingA device which connects two or more computer buses, typically in a transparent manner.

      This chip is the bridge between the front-side bus and the I/O bus.

   3. computingA software component connecting two or more separate systems.

      The plugin also acts as a bridge with BuddyPress and adds things like the top admin bar, and so on.

      2011, Thord Daniel Hedengren, Smashing WordPress Themes: Making WordPress Beautiful

   4. computingA system which connects two or more local area networks at layer 2 of OSI model.

      The LAN bridge uses a spanning tree algorithm.

   5. physicalchemistryAn intramolecular valence bond, atom or chain of atoms that connects two different parts of a molecule; the atoms so connected being bridgeheads.
   6. businessAn unintended solder connection between two or more components or pins.
   7. entertainmentA contrasting section within a song that prepares for the return of the original material section.

      The lyrics in the song's bridge inverted its meaning.

      1 more example

      In the bridge of his 2011 song "It Will Rain", Bruno Mars begs his lover not to "say goodbye."

   8. graph theoryAn edge which, if removed, changes a connected graph to one that is not connected.
   9. communicationsA point in a line where a break in a word unit cannot occur.
   10. diplomacyA statement, such as an offer, that signals a possibility of accord.
   11. A day falling between two public holidays and consequently designated as an additional holiday.
   12. biologyIn turtles, the connection between the plastron and the carapace.
   13. The part of a pair of glasses that connects the lenses.
4. businessAny of several electrical devices that measure characteristics such as impedance and inductance by balancing different parts of a circuit
5. A low wall or vertical partition in the fire chamber of a furnace, for deflecting flame, etc.; a bridge wall.
6. cyclingThe situation where a lone rider or small group of riders closes the space between them and the rider or group in front.
7. A solid crust of undissolved salt in a water softener.
8. roller derbyAn elongated chain of teammates, connected to the pack, for improved blocking potential.
9. card gamesA form of cheating by which a card is cut by previously curving it by pressure of the hand.

   see for the card game of contract bridge.

present singular third person bridges · participle present bridging · participle past bridged · past bridged · alternative Northern England Northern Ireland Scotland brig · alternative obsolete bridg · alternative brigge

1. To be or make a bridge over something.

   With enough cable, we can bridge this gorge.

   1 more example

   On this occasion, the damage was far more serious. The sea wall was breached completely for a distance of over 50 yd., and the gap had to be bridged by a temporary timber viaduct.

   1947 January and February, H. A. Vallance, “The Sea Wall at Dawlish”, in Railway Magazine, page 18

2. To span as if with a bridge.

   The two groups were able to bridge their differences.

   2 more examples

   Before another word was spoken Inspector Beedel had appeared, and the grip of bone and muscle on the straining wrists was changed to one of steel. Less than thirty seconds bridged the whole astonishing transformation.

   1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries

   The brooding, black-clad singer bridged a stark divide that emerged in the recording industry in the 1950s, as post-Elvis pop singers diverged into two camps and audiences aligned themselves with either the sideburned rebels of rock 'n' roll or the cowboy-hatted twangsters of country music.

   2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 1, 28

3. entertainmentTo transition from one piece or section of music to another without stopping.

   We need to bridge that jam into "The Eleven".

4. communicationTo connect two or more computer buses, networks etc. with a bridge.
5. governmentTo go to the bridge position.
6. roller derbyTo employ the bridge tactic. (See Noun section.)

alternative Northern England Northern Ireland Scotland brig · alternative obsolete bridg · alternative brigge

1. uncountablecard gamesAny of a certain family of trick-taking card games.

   Bidding is an essential element of the game of bridge.

   1. uncountableusuallycard gamesA card game played with four players playing as two teams of two players each.

      She played in a bridge tournament in Las Vegas last year.

      Synonyms: contract bridge

1. A surname.
   1. An occupational surname for a bridgekeeper
   2. A habitational surname for someone living near a bridge or at a location called Bridge or Bridges
   3. A toponymic surname for someone from Bruges
   4. alternativeAlternative form of Bridgen.
   5. alternativeAlternative form of Bridges.
2. A village and civil parish in Canterbury district, Kent, England (OS grid ref TR1854). Recorded as Brige in 1086 (DB), from Old English brycg.
3. An unincorporated community in Coos County, Oregon, United States, named for a river bridge.