gantry

noun

gan·​try ˈgan-trē 

plural gantries

1

: a frame for supporting barrels

2

: a frame structure raised on side supports so as to span over or around something: such as

a

: a platform made to carry a traveling crane and supported by towers or side frames running on parallel tracks

also : a movable structure with platforms at different levels used for erecting and servicing rockets before launching

b

: a structure spanning several railroad tracks and displaying signals for each

Examples of gantry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The existing television gantry situated in the Arthur Wait stand will be removed, with broadcasters switched to the new Main Stand. — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 30 June 2026

Rotating mechanical arms, or gantries, direct the radiation beam. — Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 18 June 2026

Above us, a workman hooked onto a steel gantry drills loudly. — Story by billy Perrigo, Time, 4 June 2026

Bridge components were printed using the TU Eindhoven gantry robot printer. — Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 16 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gauntree, reshaping (perhaps conformed to tre tree entry 1) of ganter, borrowed from Anglo-French *ganter (Old French —Picard— gantier, Old French chantier), going back to Latin cantērius, canthērius "horse of poor quality, rafter, prop for vines," akin to Greek kanthḗlia "panniers," (ónos) kanthḗlios "pack ass," both loanwords from an undetermined Mediterranean language

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gantry

• chantry
• pantry

Kids Definition

gantry

noun

gan·​try ˈgan-trē 

plural gantries

1

: a platform made to carry a traveling crane and supported by towers running on parallel tracks

2

: a movable structure used for erecting and servicing rockets before launching

3

: a structure spanning several railroad tracks and displaying signals