plinth
Americannoun
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a slablike member beneath the base of a column or pier.
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a square base or a lower block, as of a pedestal.
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Also called plinth course. a projecting course of stones at the base of a wall; earth table.
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(in joinery) a flat member at the bottom of an architrave, dado, baseboard, or the like.
noun
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Also called: socle. the rectangular slab or block that forms the lowest part of the base of a column, statue, pedestal, or pier
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Also called: plinth course. the lowest part of the wall of a building that appears above ground level, esp one that is formed of a course of stone or brick
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a flat block on either side of a doorframe, where the architrave meets the skirting
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a flat base on which a structure or piece of equipment is placed
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of plinth
1555–65; earlier plinthus < Latin < Greek plínthos plinth, squared stone, brick, tile
Explanation
If a building has columns, you can call the platform or base on which a column rests a plinth. The plinth typically lies between the column and the ground. In architecture, a plinth is one of the basic building elements. While it's most common for a plinth to support a pillar or column, it can also be used as a base or slab underneath a statue, a bust, or a decorative vase, and in engineering a plinth is the support for a dam. The word comes from the Greek root plinthos, "brick" or "squared stone."
Vocabulary lists containing plinth
Lord of the Flies
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Built To Last: Architectural Parlance
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The Namesake
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He has lived in Port Glasgow for 70 years but is far less scathing about the Plook on the Plinth than Kevin.
From BBC • Sep. 22, 2025
Plinth reconstruction was 64% done in late January, three months behind schedule, but the line should still open sometime in 2025, agency executives reported last week.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 15, 2024
The Boy with Knife Carnation by Wirral-based artist Brigitte Jurack will be in situ on Liverpool Plinth for 12 months.
From BBC • Jul. 6, 2023
John Chilembwe was important enough for me as an African to go on the Fourth Plinth.
From New York Times • Oct. 9, 2022
"Plinth" was a little difficult to work in; "besides," she reminded herself, "I don't quite know what it means."
From Once on a Time by Robinson, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
