flying arch

noun

A form of arch that does not carry any vertical load, but is provided solely to supply outward horizontal forces, to resist an inwards compression. They are used across cuttings, to avoid them collapsing inwards.

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Meanings

nounflying arch (plural flying arches)

plural flying arches

  1. A form of arch that does not carry any vertical load, but is provided solely to supply outward horizontal forces, to resist an inwards compression. They are used across cuttings, to avoid them collapsing inwards.

    Masonry flying arches strutting the retaining walls in Chorley cutting, Manchester-Blackpool line, L.M.S.R.

    1939 November, “Pertinent Paragraphs”, in Railway Magazine, page 358, photo caption
Cite this entry
APA

flying arch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flying%20arch

MLA

“flying arch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flying%20arch. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flying arch,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flying%20arch.

Source: flying arch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.