trestle

[ tres-uhl ]
See synonyms for trestle on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a frame typically composed of a horizontal bar or beam rigidly joined or fitted at each end to the top of a transverse A-frame, used as a barrier, a transverse support for planking, etc.; horse.

  2. Civil Engineering.

    • one of a number of bents, having sloping sides of framework or piling, for supporting the deck or stringers of a bridge.

    • a bridge made of these.

Origin of trestle

1
1300–50; Middle English trestel<Middle French, by dissimilation from Old French trestre ≪ Latin trānstrum crossbeam

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use trestle in a sentence

  • Too soon we reached the station, too soon the train ran out across the trestles, and too soon Venice faded in the offing.

    Polly the Pagan | Isabel Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for trestle

trestle

/ (ˈtrɛsəl) /


noun
  1. a framework in the form of a horizontal member supported at each end by a pair of splayed legs, used to carry scaffold boards, a table top, etc

    • a braced structural tower-like framework of timber, metal, or reinforced concrete that is used to support a bridge or ropeway

    • a bridge constructed of such frameworks

Origin of trestle

1
C14: from Old French trestel, ultimately from Latin trānstrum transom

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012