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a structure spanning and providing passage over a river, chasm, road, or the like.
a connecting, transitional, or intermediate route or phase between two adjacent elements, activities, conditions, or the like:
Working at the hospital was a bridge between medical school and private practice.
Nautical.

a raised transverse platform from which a power vessel is navigated: often includes a pilot house and a chart house.
any of various other raised platforms from which the navigation or docking of a vessel is supervised.
a bridge house or bridge superstructure.
a raised walkway running fore-and-aft.

Anatomy. the ridge or upper line of the nose.
Dentistry. an artificial replacement, fixed or removable, of a missing tooth or teeth, supported by natural teeth or roots adjacent to the space.
Music.

a thin, fixed wedge or support raising the strings of a musical instrument above the sounding board.
a transitional, modulatory passage connecting sections of a composition or movement.
(in jazz and popular music) the contrasting third group of eight bars in a thirty-two-bar chorus; channel; release.

Also, bridge passage. a passage in a literary work or a scene in a play serving as a movement between two other passages or scenes of greater importance.
Ophthalmology. the part of a pair of eyeglasses that joins the two lenses and rests on the bridge or sides of the nose.
Also called bridge circuit. Electricity. a two-branch network, including a measuring device, as a galvanometer, in which the unknown resistance, capacitance, inductance, or impedance of one component can be measured by balancing the voltage in each branch and computing the unknown value from the known values of the other components.
Compare Wheatstone bridge.
Railroads. a gantry over a track or tracks for supporting waterspouts, signals, etc.
Building Trades. a scaffold built over a sidewalk alongside a construction or demolition site to protect pedestrians and motor traffic from falling materials.
Metallurgy.

a ridge or wall-like projection of fire brick or the like, at each end of the hearth in a metallurgical furnace.
any layer of partially fused or densely compacted material preventing the proper gravitational movement of molten material, as in a blast furnace or cupola, or the proper compacting of metal powder in a mold.

(in a twist drill) the conoid area between the flutes at the drilling end.
Billiards, Pool.

the arch formed by the hand and fingers to support and guide the striking end of a cue.
a notched piece of wood with a long handle, used to support the striking end of the cue when the hand cannot do so comfortably; rest.

transitional music, commentary, dialogue, or the like, between two parts of a radio or television program.
Theater.

a gallery or platform that can be raised or lowered over a stage and is used by technicians, stagehands, etc., for painting scenery (paint bridge) arranging and supporting lights (light bridge) or the like.
British. a part of the floor of a stage that can be raised or lowered.

Horology. a partial plate, supported at both ends, holding bearings on the side opposite the dial.
Compare cock1 (def 10).
Chemistry. a valence bond illustrating the connection of two parts of a molecule.
a support or prop, usually timber, for the roof of a mine, cave, etc.
any arch or rooflike figure formed by acrobats, dancers, etc., as by joining and raising hands.
to make a bridge or passage over; span:
The road bridged the river.
to join by or as if by a bridge:
a fallen tree bridging the two porches.
to make (a way) by a bridge.
Foundry. (of molten metal) to form layers or areas heterogeneous either in material or in degree of hardness.
(especially of clothing) less expensive than a manufacturer’s most expensive products:
showing his bridge line for the fall season.
burn one’s bridges (behind one), to eliminate all possibilities of retreat; make one’s decision irrevocable:
She burned her bridges when she walked out angrily.
a game derived from whist in which one partnership plays to fulfill a certain declaration against an opposing partnership acting as defenders.
Compare auction bridge, contract (def 5).
Contemporary Examples

A Fashion Icon’s Life After Death Jacob Bernstein July 6, 2010
‘You Have 30 Seconds’: The Real Captain Phillips’s Gripping Memoir Captain Richard Phillips, Stephan Talty October 10, 2013
7 Wildest Moments from the 2011 MTV Movie Awards Shannon Donnelly June 5, 2011
ABC Announces 2013-14 Schedule: ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Gets Tuesday Berth, ‘Super Fun Night’ Gets ‘Modern Family’ Lead-In Jace Lacob May 13, 2013
The Other Quagmire Judith Miller January 20, 2009

Historical Examples

Youth Joseph Conrad
The Armourer’s Prentices Charlotte M. Yonge
Musical Myths and Facts, Volume I (of 2) Carl Engel
Harriet, The Moses of Her People Sarah H. Bradford
Croquet Anonymous

noun
a structure that spans and provides a passage over a road, railway, river, or some other obstacle
something that resembles this in shape or function: his letters provided a bridge across the centuries

the hard ridge at the upper part of the nose, formed by the underlying nasal bones
any anatomical ridge or connecting structure Compare pons

the part of a pair of glasses that rests on the nose
Also called bridgework. a dental plate containing one or more artificial teeth that is secured to the surrounding natural teeth
a platform athwartships and above the rail, from which a ship is piloted and navigated
a piece of wood, usually fixed, supporting the strings of a violin, guitar, etc, and transmitting their vibrations to the sounding board
Also called bridge passage. a passage in a musical, literary, or dramatic work linking two or more important sections
(electronics) Also called bridge circuit. any of several networks, such as a Wheatstone bridge, consisting of two branches across which a measuring device is connected. The resistance, capacitance, etc, of one component can be determined from the known values of the others when the voltage in each branch is balanced
(computing) a device that connects networks and sends packets between them
(billiards, snooker)

a support for a cue made by placing the fingers on the table and raising the thumb
a cue rest with a notched end for shots beyond normal reach

(theatre)

a platform of adjustable height above or beside the stage for the use of stagehands, light operators, etc
(mainly Brit) a part of the stage floor that can be raised or lowered

a partition in a furnace or boiler to keep the fuel in place
build bridges, to promote reconciliation or cooperation between hostile groups or people
burn one’s bridges, See burn1 (sense 19)
cross a bridge when one comes to it, to deal with a problem only when it arises; not to anticipate difficulties
verb (transitive)
to build or provide a bridge over something; span: to bridge a river
to connect or reduce the distance between: let us bridge our differences
noun
a card game for four players, based on whist, in which one hand (the dummy) is exposed and the trump suit decided by bidding between the players See also contract bridge, duplicate bridge, rubber bridge, auction bridge
noun
Frank. 1879–1941, English composer, esp of chamber music. He taught Benjamin Britten
n.
v.

bridge
(brĭj)

A structure spanning and providing passage over a gap or barrier, such as a river or roadway.
networking, hardware
A device which forwards traffic between network segments based on data link layer information. These segments would have a common network layer address.
Every network should only have one root bridge.
See also gateway, router.
(2001-03-04)
see:

burn one’s bridges
cross that bridge when one comes to it
water over the dam (under the bridge)