bridge
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A hard raised part, or a structure crossing an obstacle
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
brijIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbɹɪdʒ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
anatomy
The hard ridge that forms the upper part of the nose
“Her glasses left marks on the bridge of her nose.”
A construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
anatomy
The upper bony ridge of the human nose.
A construction spanning a waterway, ravine, or valley from a height, allowing for the passage of vehicles, pedestrians, trains, etc.
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.
An arch or superstructure.
verb
Make a bridge across
Cross over on a bridge
To be or make a bridge over something.
To span as if with a bridge.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The hard ridge that forms the upper part of the nose
Used this way, bridge is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a clinical use: it belongs to medical description, where it is factual rather than emotive.
“Her glasses left marks on the bridge of her nose.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- bridgework , rarer, so it draws attention
Natural pattern: bridge of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use bridge
- “Her glasses left marks on the bridge of her nose.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The earliest form of bridge.
A card player in a game of bridge.
A circuit consisting of a T-network with an additional shunt bridging the two series circuits.
One of a pair of bridge players who are on the same side of the game.
Suffice for a period between two points.
The cards held in a game of bridge.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: hard ridge that forms the upper part of the nose
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.