bridge

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈbrij 

1

a

: a structure carrying a pathway or roadway over a depression or obstacle (such as a river)

a bridge connecting the island to the mainland

b

: a time, place, or means of connection or transition

building a bridge between the two cultures

the bridge from war to peace

2

: something resembling a bridge in form or function: such as

a

: the upper bony part of the nose

broke the bridge of his nose

also : the part of a pair of glasses that rests upon it

b

music : a piece raising the strings of a musical instrument see violin illustration

c

nautical : the forward part of a ship's superstructure (see superstructure sense 2b) from which the ship is navigated

d

railroads : gantry sense 2b

e

billiards : the hand as a rest for a cue

also : a device used as a cue rest

3

a

music : a passage linking two sections of a composition

b

dentistry : a partial denture anchored to adjacent teeth

c

chemistry : a connection (such as an atom or group of atoms) that joins two different parts of a molecule (such as opposite sides of a ring)

4

physics : an electrical instrument or network for measuring or comparing resistances (see resistance entry 1 sense 4a), inductances, capacitances, or impedances by comparing the ratio of two opposing voltages to a known ratio

bridgeless

ˈbrij-ləs 

adjective

Illustration of bridge

• 1 beam
• 2 truss
• 3 arch
• 4 suspension
• 5 cable-stayed

bridge

2 of 3

verb

bridged; bridging

transitive verb

1

: to make a bridge (see bridge entry 1) over or across

bridging a river

bridge the divisions between the two groups

bridge the generation gap

also : to join by a bridge

2

: to provide with a bridge

small bridged streams

bridgeable

ˈbri-jə-bəl 

adjective

bridge

3 of 3

noun (2)

card games : any of various card games for usually four players in two partnerships that bid for the right to declare a trump suit, seek to win tricks (see trick entry 1 sense 4) equal to the final bid, and play with the hand of declarer 's partner exposed and played by declarer

especially : contract bridge

Examples of bridge in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Citroën rumbles over the bridge; a cigarette’s burning ember turns into a rocket falling through a black sky. —Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024

Efforts to take containers away the through this week will help safely move the Dali from the wreckage site and allow for safe access to then remove sections of the bridge across the ship’s bow, officials say. —USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2024

More than 50 salvage divers and 12 cranes are on site to help cut out sections of the bridge and remove them from the key waterway. —Brian Witte, Quartz, 8 Apr. 2024

Surgeons in Kyoto implanted a titanium bridge between his vocal cords (also known as vocal folds) to keep them from pressing together. —James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024

Two of the six construction workers who had been doing work on the bridge were recovered the day after the bridge collapsed. —Brian Brant, Peoplemag, 6 Apr. 2024

Some 850,000 vehicles go through the port annually and more than 30,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily. —Nik Popli, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024

The White House previously said Biden would be meeting with local officials and viewing the wreckage of the bridge, which collapsed last week after a massive cargo ship hit one of its support pillars. —Alexandra Banner, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024

The bridge's reconstruction is expected to take years and cost billions of dollars. —Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2024

Verb

With executive chef Lance Velasquez, the menu circles back to Feniger and Milliken’s initial wide-world approach to cooking, specifically bridging retro Continental cuisine and Mediterranean influences with an emphasis on the California seasons. —Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2024

In February, the group held an interfaith dinner, intending to bridge divides by bringing students together over kosher and halal food. —Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024

Meghan Rose is an astrologer, tarot reader, and writer based out of Los Angeles whose work bridges the magical and the material to create real change. —Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Apr. 2024

What struck me was Pires’s illustration of how proactive collaboration and cultural adaptation can yield substantial mutual benefits, bridging continents and opportunities for mutual growth. —Kate Vitasek, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024

Newspapers are losing the battle against smartphones as the preferred place to learn the news, but one woman has found a way to bridge the divide and bring the print to the people. —Jordan-Marie Smith, NPR, 26 Mar. 2024

The page-long resolution itself was born out of an attempt to bridge differences that had made the Security Council — the world’s primary body for maintaining international peace and security — seem weak and ineffective in multiple attempts to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. —Toluse Olorunnipa, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024

The Washington summit provides an opportunity to bridge this chasm and build consensus on Ukraine within the alliance. —Ivo Daalder, Foreign Affairs, 26 Mar. 2024

The professor, who also directs a center of bridge engineering professionals, said there is typically an order of operations to bridge construction involving environmental impact analyses, permits, design, contracting, fabrication and construction. —Lori Aratani, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English brigge, from Old English brycg; akin to Old High German brucka bridge, Old Church Slavonic brŭvŭno beam

Verb

Middle English briggen, going back to Old English brycgian, noun derivative of brycg bridge entry 1

Noun (2)

alteration of earlier biritch, of unknown origin

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1886, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bridge

• bridge the gap
• cantilever bridge
• build a bridge
• contract bridge
• cross that bridge when one comes to it
• covered bridge
• duplicate bridge
• natural bridge
• suspension bridge
• swing bridge
• water under the bridge
• Wheatstone bridge
• rubber bridge
• pontoon bridge
• auction bridge
• flying bridge
• bridge loan
• truss bridge
• railroad bridge

Kids Definition

bridge

1 of 3 noun

ˈbrij 

1

: a structure built over something (as a river or a railroad) so people can cross

2

: a platform above and across the deck of a ship for the captain or officer in charge

3

a

: something resembling a bridge (as the upper part of the nose)

b

: music that connects the sections of a song or composition

4

: a curved piece that raises the strings of a musical instrument

5

: an artificial replacement for one or more teeth that is fastened to the remaining nearby teeth

bridge

2 of 3 verb

bridged; bridging

: to make a bridge over or across

bridge a gap

bridgeable

-ə-bəl 

adjective

bridge

3 of 3 noun

: a card game for four players in two teams

Etymology

Noun

Old English brycg "bridge"

Noun

origin unknown

Medical Definition

bridge

noun

ˈbrij 

1

a

: the upper bony part of the nose

b

: the curved part of a pair of glasses that rests upon this part of the nose

2

a

: pons

b

: a strand of protoplasm extending between two cells

c

: a partial denture held in place by anchorage to adjacent teeth

d

: a connection (as an atom or group of atoms) that joins two different parts of a molecule (as opposite sides of a ring)

e

: an area of physical continuity between two chromatids persisting during the later phases of mitosis and constituting a possible source of somatic genetic change