Library / English Dictionary

BRIDGE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of various card games based on whist for four players

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("bridge" is a kind of...):

card game; cards (a game played with playing cards)

Meronyms (parts of "bridge"):

ruff; trumping ((card games) the act of taking a trick with a trump when unable to follow suit)

bid; bidding ((bridge) the number of tricks a bridge player is willing to contract to make)

contract; declaration ((contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make)

slam; sweep (winning all or all but one of the tricks in bridge)

Domain member category:

preempt (make a preemptive bid in the game of bridge)

overbid (to bid for more tricks than one can expect to win,)

outbid (bid over an opponent's bid when one's partner has not bid or doubled)

declare (designate (a trump suit or no-trump) with the final bid of a hand)

raise (bid (one's partner's suit) at a higher level)

doubleton ((bridge) a pair of playing cards that are the only cards in their suit in the hand dealt to a player)

overbid; overcall ((bridge) a bid that is higher than your opponent's bid (especially when your partner has not bid at all and your bid exceeds the value of your hand))

takeout ((bridge) a bid that asks your partner to bid another suit)

bid; bidding ((bridge) the number of tricks a bridge player is willing to contract to make)

stopper ((bridge) a playing card with a value sufficiently high to insure taking a trick in a particular suit)

minor suit (( bridge) a suit of inferior scoring value, either diamonds or clubs)

major suit ((bridge) a suit of superior scoring value, either spades or hearts)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bridge"):

bridge whist (the earliest form of bridge; the dealer could name the trump suit)

auction; auction bridge (a variety of bridge in which tricks made in excess of the contract are scored toward game; now generally superseded by contract bridge)

contract; contract bridge (a variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks he bid)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or canal or railway etc.

Synonyms:

bridge; span

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bridge" is a kind of...):

construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)

Meronyms (parts of "bridge"):

pier (a support for two adjacent bridge spans)

trestle (a supporting tower used to support a bridge)

arch ((architecture) a masonry construction (usually curved) for spanning an opening and supporting the weight above it)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bridge"):

viaduct (bridge consisting of a series of arches supported by piers used to carry a road (or railroad) over a valley)

truss bridge (a bridge supported by trusses)

trestle bridge (a bridge supported by trestlework)

toll bridge (a bridge where toll is charged for crossing)

suspension bridge (a bridge that has a roadway supported by cables that are anchored at both ends)

steel arch bridge (a steel bridge constructed in the form of an arch)

rope bridge (a bridge consisting of ropes)

bateau bridge; floating bridge; pontoon bridge (a temporary bridge built over a series of pontoons)

flyover; overpass (bridge formed by the upper level of a crossing of two highways at different levels)

footbridge; overcrossing; pedestrian bridge (a bridge designed for pedestrians)

drawbridge; lift bridge (a bridge that can be raised to block passage or to allow boats or ships to pass beneath it)

covered bridge (a bridge whose passageway is protected by a roof and enclosing sides)

cattle grid; cattle guard (a bridge over a ditch consisting of parallel metal bars that allow pedestrians and vehicles to pass, but not cattle)

cantilever bridge (bridge constructed of two cantilevers that meet in the middle)

Bailey bridge (a temporary bridge designed for rapid construction)

Holonyms ("bridge" is a part of...):

transit; transportation; transportation system (a facility consisting of the means and equipment necessary for the movement of passengers or goods)

Derivation:

bridge (make a bridge across)

bridge (cross over on a bridge)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An upper deck where a ship is steered and the captain stands

Synonyms:

bridge; bridge deck

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bridge" is a kind of...):

upper deck (a higher deck)

Meronyms (parts of "bridge"):

pilothouse; wheelhouse (an enclosed compartment from which a vessel can be navigated)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bridge"):

conning tower (a raised bridge on a submarine; often used for entering and exiting)

fly bridge; flybridge; flying bridge; monkey bridge (the highest navigational bridge on a ship; a small (often open) deck above the pilot house)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The link between two lenses; rests on the nose

Synonyms:

bridge; nosepiece

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bridge" is a kind of...):

link; linkup; tie; tie-in (a fastener that serves to join or connect)

Holonyms ("bridge" is a part of...):

eyeglasses; glasses; specs; spectacles ((plural) optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A denture anchored to teeth on either side of missing teeth

Synonyms:

bridge; bridgework

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bridge" is a kind of...):

dental plate; denture; plate (a dental appliance that artificially replaces missing teeth)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A wooden support that holds the strings up

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bridge" is a kind of...):

support (any device that bears the weight of another thing)

Holonyms ("bridge" is a part of...):

stringed instrument (a musical instrument in which taut strings provide the source of sound)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A circuit consisting of two branches (4 arms arranged in a diamond configuration) across which a meter is connected

Synonyms:

bridge; bridge circuit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("bridge" is a kind of...):

circuit; electric circuit; electrical circuit (an electrical device that provides a path for electrical current to flow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bridge"):

Wheatstone bridge (a bridge used to measure resistances)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The hard ridge that forms the upper part of the nose

Example:

her glasses left marks on the bridge of her nose

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("bridge" is a kind of...):

anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)

Meronyms (parts of "bridge"):

nasal; nasal bone; os nasale (an elongated rectangular bone that forms the bridge of the nose)

Holonyms ("bridge" is a part of...):

nose; olfactory organ (the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Something resembling a bridge in form or function

Example:

his letters provided a bridge across the centuries

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Hypernyms ("bridge" is a kind of...):

connectedness; connection; connexion (a relation between things or events (as in the case of one causing the other or sharing features with it))

Derivation:

bridge (connect or reduce the distance between)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make a bridge across

Example:

bridge a river

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "bridge" is one way to...):

join (cause to become joined or linked)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

bridge (a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or canal or railway etc.)

bridgeable (capable of being connected by a bridge or as if by a bridge)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cross over on a bridge

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "bridge" is one way to...):

cover; cross; cut across; cut through; get across; get over; pass over; track; traverse (travel across or pass over)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

bridge (a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or canal or railway etc.)

bridgeable (capable of being connected by a bridge or as if by a bridge)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Connect or reduce the distance between

Synonyms:

bridge; bridge over

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "bridge" is one way to...):

connect; link; link up; tie (connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Also:

bridge over (suffice for a period between two points)

Derivation:

bridge (something resembling a bridge in form or function)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The scientist characterized how waves resonate throughout the bridge, causing small movements that, when exaggerated, look like wobbles on a plate of gelatin.

(Song of the red rock arches, National Science Foundation)

The microscopic, 3D-printed, doughnut-shaped tori are coated with nickel and platinum and bridge the gap between biological and synthetic swimmers.

(Tiny swimming 'doughnuts' deliver the biomedical goods, National Science Foundation)

The fences and houses and bridges were all painted bright red, just as they had been painted yellow in the country of the Winkies and blue in the country of the Munchkins.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

We passed over five or six rivers, many degrees broader and deeper than the Nile or the Ganges: and there was hardly a rivulet so small as the Thames at London-bridge.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

A short distance away lookouts were set, their task being to watch the lighted ends of the bridge.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Soon, however, they came to a little brook, and as there was no bridge or foot-plank, they did not know how they were to get over it.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

They descended the hill, crossed the bridge, and drove to the door; and, while examining the nearer aspect of the house, all her apprehension of meeting its owner returned.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

It somehow made the journey from South America to North America 15 million years before there was a land bridge to travel across.

(First-ever fossil monkey found in North America, NSF)

Binding results in the inhibition of the transpeptidase enzymes, thereby preventing cross-linking of the pentaglycine bridge with the fourth residue of the pentapeptide and interrupting consequent synthesis of peptidoglycan chains.

(Cefdinir, NCI Thesaurus)

Intercellular bridges and cytoplasmic keratinization are usually present.

(Cervical Keratinizing Squamous Cell Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)