Definition of "bridge"

bridge¹

/bɹɪd͡ʒ/

noun
plural bridges
1. A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
  1. A construction spanning a waterway, ravine, or valley from an elevated height, allowing for the passage of vehicles, pedestrians, trains, etc.
    Quotations
    Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet: or anon we shot into a clearing, with a colored glimpse of the lake and its curving shore far below us.
    1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd.
    Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
    2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28
  2. (anatomy) The upper bony ridge of the human nose.
  3. (dentistry) A prosthesis replacing one or several adjacent teeth.
  4. (bowling) The gap between the holes on a bowling ball
2. An arch or superstructure.
  1. (nautical) An elevated platform above the upper deck of a mechanically propelled ship from which it is navigated and from which all activities on deck can be seen and controlled by the captain, etc; smaller ships have a wheelhouse, and sailing ships were controlled from a quarterdeck.
  2. (music, lutherie) The piece, on string instruments, that supports the strings from the sounding board.
  3. (billiards, snooker, pool) A particular form of one hand placed on the table to support the cue when making a shot in cue sports.
  4. (billiards, snooker, pool) A cue modified with a convex arch-shaped notched head attached to the narrow end, used to support a player's (shooter's) cue for extended or tedious shots. Also called a spider.
  5. Anything supported at the ends and serving to keep some other thing from resting upon the object spanned, as in engraving, watchmaking, etc., or which forms a platform or staging over which something passes or is conveyed.
  6. (wrestling) A defensive position in which the wrestler is supported by his feet and head, belly-up, in order to prevent touch-down of the shoulders and eventually to dislodge an opponent who has established a position on top.
  7. (gymnastics) A similar position in gymnastics.
3. A connection, real or abstract.
  Quotations
  Yes, France is geographically situated in a key position so far as Western Europe is concerned. They are really the bridge between Germany, Spain and Italy. And it was necessary to have a NATO organization that was unified and France was a necessary member of that organization.
  1964, Harry S. Truman, 0:18 from the start, in MP2002-479 Former President Truman Recalls Negotiating With DeGaulle and France after WWII‎, Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162
  1. (medicine) A rudimentary procedure before definite solution
  2. (computing) A device which connects two or more computer buses, typically in a transparent manner.
  3. (programming) A software component connecting two or more separate systems.
    Quotations
    The plugin also acts as a bridge with BuddyPress and adds things like the top admin bar, and so on.
    2011, Thord Daniel Hedengren, Smashing WordPress Themes: Making WordPress Beautiful
  4. (networking) A system which connects two or more local area networks at layer 2 of OSI model.
  5. (chemistry) An intramolecular valence bond, atom or chain of atoms that connects two different parts of a molecule; the atoms so connected being bridgeheads.
  6. (electronics) An unintended solder connection between two or more components or pins.
  7. (music) A contrasting section within a song that prepares for the return of the original material section.
  8. (graph theory) An edge which, if removed, changes a connected graph to one that is not connected.
  9. (poetry) A point in a line where a break in a word unit cannot occur.
  10. (diplomacy) A statement, such as an offer, that signals a possibility of accord.
  11. A day falling between two public holidays and consequently designated as an additional holiday.
  12. (biology) In turtles, the connection between the plastron and the carapace.
4. (electronics) Any of several electrical devices that measure characteristics such as impedance and inductance by balancing different parts of a circuit
5. A low wall or vertical partition in the fire chamber of a furnace, for deflecting flame, etc.; a bridge wall.
6. (cycling) The situation where a lone rider or small group of riders closes the space between them and the rider or group in front.
7. A solid crust of undissolved salt in a water softener.
8. (roller derby) An elongated chain of teammates, connected to the pack, for improved blocking potential.
verb
third-person singular simple present bridges, present participle bridging, simple past and past participle bridged
1. To be or make a bridge over something.
  Quotations
  On this occasion, the damage was far more serious. The sea wall was breached completely for a distance of over 50 yd., and the gap had to be bridged by a temporary timber viaduct.
  1947 January and February, H. A. Vallance, “The Sea Wall at Dawlish”, in Railway Magazine, page 18
2. To span as if with a bridge.
  Quotations
  The brooding, black-clad singer bridged a stark divide that emerged in the recording industry in the 1950s, as post-Elvis pop singers diverged into two camps and audiences aligned themselves with either the sideburned rebels of rock 'n' roll or the cowboy-hatted twangsters of country music.
  2012, Christoper Zara, Tortured Artists: From Picasso and Monroe to Warhol and Winehouse, the Twisted Secrets of the World's Most Creative Minds, part 1, chapter 1, 28
3. (music) To transition from one piece or section of music to another without stopping.
4. (computing, communication) To connect two or more computer buses, networks etc. with a bridge.
5. (wrestling) To go to the bridge position.
6. (roller derby) To employ the bridge tactic. (See Noun section.)

bridge²

/bɹɪd͡ʒ/

noun
uncountable
1. (card games) A card game played with four players playing as two teams of two players each.