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architecture, civil engineering.

a masonry m-ss supporting and receiving the thrust of part of an arch or vault.
a force that serves to an arch or vault.
a m-ss, as of masonry, receiving the arch, beam, truss, etc., at each end of a bridge.
a m-ss or structure for resisting the pressure of water on a bridge, pier, or the like.
each of the parts of a canyon or the like receiving the thrusts of an arch dam.
a structure for absorbing tensions from reinforcing strands for concrete being prestressed.

the place where projecting parts meet; junction.
dentistry. a tooth or tooth root that supports or stabilizes a bridge, denture, or other prosthetic appliance.
historical examples

it was koto’s voice, and it came from behind the abutment of rock toward which i was hurrying.
the winged men of orcon david r. sparks

the abutment forms were built up as the concreting progressed.
concrete construction halbert p. gillette

the sergeant led the remainder of the detail down into the lee of an abutment, to avoid the full drive of the storm.
short stories of various types various

considering the abutment and wing wall work, comprising 594 cu.
concrete construction halbert p. gillette

bob got a boat and hurried out to the abutment after seeing kalinski safely in the hands of the police.
the iron boys in the steel mills james r. mears

where they stood an abutment of the cliff hid the ravine below.
the plant hunters mayne reid

then woodford caught the lantern from marks and came on down the abutment toward us.
dwellers in the hills melville davisson post

there was a stone wall, or abutment, near the town, about sixty feet high.
my life josiah flynt

rofflash groped his way over the slimy floor to a small door which he knew opened on to an abutment between two arches.
madame flirt charles e. pearce

but–i feel bound to state that i am in some doubt as to the abutment on the other side!’
the lincoln story book henry l. williams

noun
the state or process of ab-tting

something that abuts
the thing on which something abuts
the point of junction between them

(architect, civil engineering) a construction that takes the thrust of an arch or vault or supports the end of a bridge
n.

1640s, from abut + -ment. originally any “junction;” the architectural usage is attested from 1793 (the notion is of the meeting-place of the arches of a bridge, etc.).

abutment a·but·ment (ə-bŭt’mənt)
n.
a natural tooth or implanted tooth subst-tute used to support or anchor a dental prosthesis.