girder
Americannoun
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a large beam, as of steel, reinforced concrete, or timber, for supporting masonry, joists, purlins, etc.
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a principal beam of wood, steel, etc., supporting the ends of joists.
noun
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a large beam, esp one made of steel, used in the construction of bridges, buildings, etc
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botany the structure composed of tissue providing mechanical support for a stem or leaf
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of girder
Explanation
A girder is any of the many beams used in buildings and bridges that provide support and actually hold them up. If you've ever seen a building going up, you know the first thing they do is put up a steel or wood skeleton that will eventually take the weight of the roof, the siding, the floors, and all the rooms inside. That skeleton is made of girders. Bridges also are made with girders, but they usually remain visible long after the steel beams in buildings have been covered by glass, brick, and wood.
Vocabulary lists containing girder
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Bless Me, Ultima
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"The End and the Beginning," Vocabulary from the poem
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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:
Last week, the final girder was installed on the crossing, completing the foundation and marking a construction milestone.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2024
The girder was part of a project to build elevated highways in the city.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2023
A 24-by-6-inch piece broke from the flange of one structural girder, Pihlstrom said.
From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2023
They can also penetrate materials that x-rays cannot, enabling researchers to image the interiors of big objects such as a running engine or a steel girder.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 2, 2021
Sam looked up at the long horizontal girder, then down at his body.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Starting in 2023, they tore out its center and moved steel girders until they resembled Swiss cheese.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
Masonry, metal girders and piles of sand are everywhere along the pavements.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
"I think this bridge is absolutely key to Prague," said architect and bridge engineer, Petr Tej, running his hand over the rust-coated girders of the 123-year-old Vysehrad railway bridge.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025
Every class gets a tour of the high-speed rail construction sites, where they see up close the viaducts and girders that are being put up every day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2024
People were clambering over twisted struts and girders to get up to the bitter cold air.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
