abutment

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun point of contact between two objects or parts
noun a masonry support that touches and directly receives thrust or pressure of an arch or bridge

First attested in 1644; engineering sense first attested in 1793. From Old French aboutement. Equivalent to abut + -ment.

On the rocky abutments are found carved the names of many persons. — Wealth of the World's Waste Places and Oceania, Jewett C. (Jewett Castello) Gilson
As he formed this resolution, he emerged from the shadow of the abutment. — Monte-Cristo's Daughter, Edmund Flagg
Shell and bullet hissed and pattered into the water by the abutments of the ruined bridge. — The Long Roll, Mary Johnston

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