abutment

abutment

, abuttal

Architect Civil engineering a construction that takes the thrust of an arch or vault or supports the end of a bridge

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Abutment

A masonry mass, pier, or solid part of a wall that takes the lateral thrust of an arch.

Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture Copyright © 2012, 2002, 1998 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

abutment

[ə′bət·mənt]

(civil engineering)

A surface or mass provided to withstand thrust; for example, end supports of an arch or a bridge.

(mining engineering)

In a coal mine, the place where the natural ground material makes contact with the ends of an embankment.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

abutment

abutment A

A masonry mass (or the like) which receives the thrust of an arch, vault, or strut.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.