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bridges

 - 12 dictionary results

Bridg⋅es

[brij-iz]
–noun
1. Calvin Black⋅man [blak-muhn] , 1889–1938, U.S. geneticist.
2. Harry (Alfred Bryant Ren⋅ton) [ren-tn] , 1900–1990, U.S. labor leader, born in Australia.
3. Robert (Seymour), 1884–1930, English poet and essayist: poet laureate 1913–30.

bridge

1[brij] noun, verb, bridged, bridg⋅ing, adjective
–noun
1. a structure spanning and providing passage over a river, chasm, road, or the like.
2. a connecting, transitional, or intermediate route or phase between two adjacent elements, activities, conditions, or the like: Working at the hospital was a bridge between medical school and private practice.
3. Nautical.
a. a raised transverse platform from which a power vessel is navigated: often includes a pilot house and a chart house.
b. any of various other raised platforms from which the navigation or docking of a vessel is supervised.
c. a bridge house or bridge superstructure.
d. a raised walkway running fore-and-aft.
4. Anatomy. the ridge or upper line of the nose.
5. Dentistry. an artificial replacement, fixed or removable, of a missing tooth or teeth, supported by natural teeth or roots adjacent to the space.
6. Music.
a. a thin, fixed wedge or support raising the strings of a musical instrument above the sounding board.
b. a transitional, modulatory passage connecting sections of a composition or movement.
c. (in jazz and popular music) the contrasting third group of eight bars in a thirty-two-bar chorus; channel; release.
7. Also, bridge passage. a passage in a literary work or a scene in a play serving as a movement between two other passages or scenes of greater importance.
8. Ophthalmology. the part of a pair of eyeglasses that joins the two lenses and rests on the bridge or sides of the nose.
9. Also called bridge circuit. Electricity. a two-branch network, including a measuring device, as a galvanometer, in which the unknown resistance, capacitance, inductance, or impedance of one component can be measured by balancing the voltage in each branch and computing the unknown value from the known values of the other components. Compare Wheatstone bridge.
10. Railroads. a gantry over a track or tracks for supporting waterspouts, signals, etc.
11. Building Trades. a scaffold built over a sidewalk alongside a construction or demolition site to protect pedestrians and motor traffic from falling materials.
12. Metallurgy.
a. a ridge or wall-like projection of fire brick or the like, at each end of the hearth in a metallurgical furnace.
b. any layer of partially fused or densely compacted material preventing the proper gravitational movement of molten material, as in a blast furnace or cupola, or the proper compacting of metal powder in a mold.
13. (in a twist drill) the conoid area between the flutes at the drilling end.
14. Billiards, Pool.
a. the arch formed by the hand and fingers to support and guide the striking end of a cue.
b. a notched piece of wood with a long handle, used to support the striking end of the cue when the hand cannot do so comfortably; rest.
15. transitional music, commentary, dialogue, or the like, between two parts of a radio or television program.
16. Theater.
a. a gallery or platform that can be raised or lowered over a stage and is used by technicians, stagehands, etc., for painting scenery (paint bridge), arranging and supporting lights (light bridge), or the like.
b. British. a part of the floor of a stage that can be raised or lowered.
17. Horology. a partial plate, supported at both ends, holding bearings on the side opposite the dial. Compare cock 1 (def. 10).
18. Chemistry. a valence bond illustrating the connection of two parts of a molecule.
19. a support or prop, usually timber, for the roof of a mine, cave, etc.
20. any arch or rooflike figure formed by acrobats, dancers, etc., as by joining and raising hands.
–verb (used with object)
21. to make a bridge or passage over; span: The road bridged the river.
22. to join by or as if by a bridge: a fallen tree bridging the two porches.
23. to make (a way) by a bridge.
–verb (used without object)
24. Foundry. (of molten metal) to form layers or areas heterogeneous either in material or in degree of hardness.
–adjective
25. (esp. of clothing) less expensive than a manufacturer's most expensive products: showing his bridge line for the fall season.
26. burn one's bridges (behind one), to eliminate all possibilities of retreat; make one's decision irrevocable: She burned her bridges when she walked out angrily.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME brigge, OE brycg; c. D brug, G Brücke; akin to ON bryggja pier


bridge⋅a⋅ble, adjective
bridgeless, adjective
bridgelike, adjective


21. traverse, cross, vault. 22. link, connect.

bridge

2[brij]
–noun Cards.
a game derived from whist in which one partnership plays to fulfill a certain declaration against an opposing partnership acting as defenders. Compare auction bridge, contract (def. 5).

Origin:
1885–90; earlier also sp. britch, biritch; of obscure orig; perh. < Turk bir one + üç three (one hand being exposed while the other three are concealed), but such a name for the game is not attested in Turkey or the Near East, from where it is alleged to have been introduced into Europe
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To bridges
bridge 1   (brĭj)   
n.  
  1. A structure spanning and providing passage over a gap or barrier, such as a river or roadway.

  2. Something resembling or analogous to this structure in form or function: a land bridge between the continents; a bridge of understanding between two countries.

    1. The upper bony ridge of the human nose.

    2. The part of a pair of eyeglasses that rests against this ridge.

    3. A thin, upright piece of wood in some stringed instruments that supports the strings above the soundboard.

    4. A transitional passage connecting two subjects or movements.

    5. A long stick with a notched plate at one end, used to steady the cue in billiards. Also called rest1.

    6. The hand used as a support to steady the cue.

    7. Any of various instruments for measuring or comparing the characteristics, such as impedance or inductance, of a conductor.

    8. An electrical shunt.

  3. A fixed or removable replacement for one or several but not all of the natural teeth, usually anchored at each end to a natural tooth.

  4. Music

    1. A thin, upright piece of wood in some stringed instruments that supports the strings above the soundboard.

    2. A transitional passage connecting two subjects or movements.

    3. A long stick with a notched plate at one end, used to steady the cue in billiards. Also called rest1.

    4. The hand used as a support to steady the cue.

    5. Any of various instruments for measuring or comparing the characteristics, such as impedance or inductance, of a conductor.

    6. An electrical shunt.

  5. Nautical A crosswise platform or enclosed area above the main deck of a ship from which the ship is controlled.

  6. Games

    1. A long stick with a notched plate at one end, used to steady the cue in billiards. Also called rest1.

    2. The hand used as a support to steady the cue.

    3. Any of various instruments for measuring or comparing the characteristics, such as impedance or inductance, of a conductor.

    4. An electrical shunt.

  7. Electricity

    1. Any of various instruments for measuring or comparing the characteristics, such as impedance or inductance, of a conductor.

    2. An electrical shunt.

  8. Chemistry An intramolecular connection that spans atoms or groups of atoms.

tr.v.   bridged, bridg·ing, bridg·es
  1. To build a bridge over.

  2. To cross by or as if by a bridge.


[Middle English brigge, from Old English brycg; see bhrū- in Indo-European roots.]
bridge'a·ble adj.
bridge 2   (brĭj)   
n.  Any of several card games derived from whist, usually played by four people in two partnerships, in which trump is determined by bidding and the hand opposite the declarer is played as a dummy.

[From earlier biritch (influenced by bridge1), from Russian birich, a call, from Old Russian birichĭ.]
Bridg·es   (brĭj'ĭz)   
American labor leader. He organized the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) and served as its president for 40 years.
Bridges, Robert Seymour 1844-1930.  
British poet and essayist who was appointed poet laureate in 1913. He is best known for his philosophical poem The Testament of Beauty (1929).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

bridge  (2)
card game, 1886 (perhaps as early as 1843), an alteration of biritch, but the source and meaning of that are obscure. "Probably of Levantine origin, since some form of the game appears to have been long known in the Near East" [OED]. One guess is that it represents Turk. *bir-üç "one-three," since one hand is exposed and three are concealed.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: bridge
Pronunciation: 'brij
Function: noun
1 a : the upper bony part of the nose b : the curved part of a pair ofglasses that rests upon this part of the nose
2 a : PONS b : a strand of protoplasm extendingbetween 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 ofa 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 ofsomatic genetic change
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

bridge (brĭj)
n.

  1. An anatomical structure resembling a bridge or span.

  2. The upper part of the ridge of the nose formed by the nasal bones.

  3. A fixed or removable replacement for one or several but not all of the natural teeth, usually anchored at each end to a natural tooth.

  4. One of the threads of protoplasm that appears to pass from one cell to another.

Bridges Bridg·es (brĭj'ĭz), Calvin Blackman. 1889-1938.

American geneticist noted for his work on the chromosome theory of heredity and the mapping of chromosomes.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
bridge   (brĭj)  Pronunciation Key 


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A structure spanning and providing passage over a gap or barrier, such as a river or roadway.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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