bridgework

English

Etymology

From bridge +‎ -work.

Noun

bridgework (countable and uncountable, plural bridgeworks)

1. (dentistry) A partial denture that is anchored to existing teeth.
   • 1941, Sullivan's Travels:

     Just think. If you were some big shot like a casting director or something, I'd be staring into your bridgework, saying, 'Yes, Mr. Smearkase; no, Mr. Smearkase; not really, Mr. Smearkase. Oh! Mr. Smearkase, that's my knee!'

   • 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:

     She called us by all our names, and when she grinned she revealed two minute gold prongs clipped to her eyeteeth. When I admired them and hoped I would have some eventually, she said, “Look here.” With a click of her tongue she thrust out her bridgework, a gesture of cordiality that cemented our friendship.

2. The construction or repair of bridges.
   • 1940 October, “Notes and News: New Zealand Developments”, in Railway Magazine, page 566:

     Of these Stable Creek bridge, 16 miles from Westport, with ten 40 ft. spans and one 20 ft. span, set on a curve of 20 ch. radius, has been completed, and forms part of 2,290 ft. of bridgework now in position on the new route, which is expected to be in service early in 1941.

   • 1959 April, B. Perren, “The Essex Coast Branches of the Great Eastern Line”, in Trains Illustrated, page 188:

     British Railways have plans to build a loop from the down side of the station to burrow under the Ipswich main line and enable down through trains to reach the Clacton line without having to cross the path of up Ipswich trains at Colchester Junction, but the Essex County Council has objected to the scheme on the grounds that the bridgework involved would interfere with its road improvement plans.

3. The component parts of a bridge.

Translations

A partial denture that is anchored to existing teeth

Russian: зубной мост (zubnoj most)

References

• “bridgework”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.