: a horizontal main structural member (as in a building or bridge) that supports vertical loads and that consists of a single piece or of more than one piece bound together
Examples of girder in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Pieces of the bridge still blocked off the Patapsco River, and partially submerged girders still flanked the huge container ship that smashed into the bridge on Tuesday.
—
Scott Neuman, NPR, 31 Mar. 2024
They were cut from girders and other bits that were swapped out of the Eiffel Tower during renovations and stored for safekeeping, according to Joachim Roncin, head of design at the Paris Games organizing committee.
—John Leicester, USA TODAY, 8 Feb. 2024
The more than a century-old railroad bridge in San Juan Capistrano will be replaced with a three-span girder bridge in coordination with the Orange County Transportation Authority and Metrolink, a project expected to be completed by late 2026.
—Annika Bahnsen, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024
The original brick building, designed by Stanford White, is still standing, although there is considerable damage to the structure of the roof, steel girders, chimney, cupola, and a portion of a wall.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 29 Nov. 2023
The most powerful storm recorded in the eastern Pacific smashed into Acapulco on Oct. 25, ripping chunks out of the 16-floor building and exposing a skeleton of girders, rods and cables.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2023
But this revelation didn’t occur while walking across a curious span of steel girders.
—Mike Bezemek, Outside Online, 13 Apr. 2023
The executives believed the team had included images making controversial religious and political statements: In one scene, there are several buildings destroyed in Townsville, and somebody claimed the girders were drawn to resemble crosses.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2023
Busy undercurrents of strings built to tempestuous peaks, long girders of brass offered structural support and Simon’s facility with complex rhythms reaffirmed itself as one of his signature strengths.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 24 Sep. 2023
Scott Neuman, NPR, 31 Mar. 2024
They were cut from girders and other bits that were swapped out of the Eiffel Tower during renovations and stored for safekeeping, according to Joachim Roncin, head of design at the Paris Games organizing committee.
—John Leicester, USA TODAY, 8 Feb. 2024
The more than a century-old railroad bridge in San Juan Capistrano will be replaced with a three-span girder bridge in coordination with the Orange County Transportation Authority and Metrolink, a project expected to be completed by late 2026.
—Annika Bahnsen, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024
The original brick building, designed by Stanford White, is still standing, although there is considerable damage to the structure of the roof, steel girders, chimney, cupola, and a portion of a wall.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 29 Nov. 2023
The most powerful storm recorded in the eastern Pacific smashed into Acapulco on Oct. 25, ripping chunks out of the 16-floor building and exposing a skeleton of girders, rods and cables.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2023
But this revelation didn’t occur while walking across a curious span of steel girders.
—Mike Bezemek, Outside Online, 13 Apr. 2023
The executives believed the team had included images making controversial religious and political statements: In one scene, there are several buildings destroyed in Townsville, and somebody claimed the girders were drawn to resemble crosses.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2023
Busy undercurrents of strings built to tempestuous peaks, long girders of brass offered structural support and Simon’s facility with complex rhythms reaffirmed itself as one of his signature strengths.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 24 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'girder.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Girder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/girder. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
girder
noun
gird·er
ˈgərd-ər 
: a horizontal main supporting beam
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