abutment

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a solid structure that supports the end or resists the outward thrust of a bridge, arch, dam, or similar construction

   Engineers inspected the stone abutment at the end of the bridge.

2. 2
   noun

   a point, surface, or place where one thing meets or presses against another

   The two walls cracked near their abutment.

3. 3
   noun

   dentistry: a tooth or implant that supports a bridge or denture

   The dentist fitted a crown to the abutment before attaching the bridge.

From Old French aboutement, 'junction or joining,' from abouter, 'to bring end to end,' and later understood as abut + -ment. The general contact sense came first; engineers specialized it for a structure against which an arch, bridge, or dam bears.

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