cantilever
Americannoun
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any rigid structural member projecting from a vertical support, especially one in which the projection is great in relation to the depth, so that the upper part is in tension and the lower part in compression.
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Building Trades, Civil Engineering. any rigid construction extending horizontally well beyond its vertical support, used as a structural element of a bridge cantilever bridge, building foundation, etc.
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Aeronautics. a form of wing construction in which no external bracing is used.
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Architecture. a bracket for supporting a balcony, cornice, etc.
verb (used without object)
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cantilevers,
present (3rd person singular)
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cantilevered,
past participle, past
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cantilevering
present participle
verb (used with object)
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cantilevers,
present (3rd person singular)
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cantilevered,
past participle, past
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cantilevering
present participle
noun
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a beam, girder, or structural framework that is fixed at one end and is free at the other
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( as modifier )
a cantilever wing
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a wing or tailplane of an aircraft that has no external bracing or support
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a part of a beam or a structure projecting outwards beyond its support
verb
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(tr) to construct (a building member, beam, etc) so that it is fixed at one end only
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(intr) to project like a cantilever
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cantileversimple
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cantileverssimple
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have cantileveredperfect
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has cantileveredperfect
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am cantileveringprogressive
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are cantileveringprogressive
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is cantileveringprogressive
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have been cantileveringperfect progressive
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has been cantileveringperfect progressive
Past
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cantileveredsimple
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had cantileveredperfect
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was cantileveringprogressive
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were cantileveringprogressive
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had been cantileveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cantilever
Explanation
A cantilever is a girder or beam that supports a bridge or another large structure. Cantilevers are attached only at one end, like a rigid diving board. Structures that stick out sideways from a vertical support are cantilevers (hold your arm straight out from your body and it becomes a kind of cantilever). Engineers construct bridges using cantilevers, balancing them with counterweights or reinforcing them with girders and trusses. Cantilever bridges were originally called cantlapper bridges—from cant, or "slope," eventually combined with lever, from the Latin levare, "to raise."
Vocabulary lists containing cantilever
Built To Last: Architectural Parlance
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Structural Engineering
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Civil Engineering
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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.
See Examples For:
The four giant cantilever cranes beside the River Clyde are iconic structures.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2026
When the cantilever is placed on one of the nanoparticles, a current is passed through its tip to measure the conductivity.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 12, 2024
Columns sway back and forth, like a cantilever swing, creating ample space for large groups to walk through.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 18, 2023
“I would have to push up on my arm, straighten my knees and then cantilever up,” he continued.
From New York Times ● Oct. 30, 2022
These are sometimes marvels of engineering skill, great wooden structures on the cantilever principle or well-constructed iron suspension bridges, remarkable when one considers the rude appliances at the disposal of the builders.
From Life in an Indian Outpost by Gordon Casserly
Rapidly-sinking rays streaming through the gaps of the cantilevers onto the pitch.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2024
Where the top level extends cantilevers out to create a covered porch, it is supported by a pair of tree trunks that Austin’s builder, Kaplan Homes, found washed up on the beach.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2024
Saarinen’s concrete structure, with its soaring, winglike vaulted roof, its huge fields of glass, and its thrilling interior curves, cantilevers and airy mezzanines, is one of the great buildings of the past century.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 12, 2019
Slender brick cladding underscores the pavilion’s long horizontal spans and extended cantilevers on either end.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2018
The Eads Bridge was practically a double series of cantilevers balancing on the towers.
From Stories of Inventors The Adventures of Inventors and Engineers by Russell Doubleday
Glazed-earthenware cylinders with rounded tops support hefty forms on their sides that seem to be invisibly cantilevered from the central mass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Marx’s background is in fashion journalism, and “Blank Space” can feel unduly cantilevered toward that world, detailing the history of hip lines like A Bathing Ape and luxury brands’ uncomfortable embrace of streetwear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
In this manner, the cantilevered base of the building need not carry any load beyond the first eight stories, a solution that would make the base lighter and cheaper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
As the sun set on a cloudy evening in Times Square on Friday, a 65-foot-long frankfurter cantilevered into the sky and spewed out a blast of rainbow confetti.
From New York Times ● May 7, 2024
You are looking at the only cantilevered structure of its kind on earth.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
That could include tunneling, cantilevering lanes or other ideas the private sector might suggest to limit Beltway widening, he said.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2019
Museum and designer retreated from the idea of cantilevering a wing over the principal tar pool.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2019
It was nowhere to be seen at the Oscars, where Jennifer Lawrence’s black lace Dior gown was free of obvious cantilevering.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 1, 2016
“His body is cantilevering, but he’s fortunate at one point to get his left foot on the ground to brace against the momentum of the football striking his hand.”
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2014
It's a taxidermist's dream, with massive forelegs and a rack that should need cantilevering.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
