truss

American  

[truhs] / trʌs /

verb (used with object)

trusses, present (3rd person singular) trussed, past participle, past trussing present participle

1. to tie, bind, or fasten.

2. to make fast with skewers, thread, or the like, as the wings or legs of a fowl in preparation for cooking.

3. to furnish or support with a truss or trusses.

4. to tie or secure (the body) closely or tightly; bind (often followed byup ).

5. Falconry. (of a hawk, falcon, etc.) to grasp (prey) firmly.

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noun

trusses plural

1. Civil Engineering, Building Trades.

   1. any of various structural frames based on the geometric rigidity of the triangle and composed of straight members subject only to longitudinal compression, tension, or both: functions as a beam or cantilever to support bridges, roofs, etc.

   2. any of various structural frames constructed on principles other than the geometric rigidity of the triangle or deriving stability from other factors, as the rigidity of joints, the abutment of masonry, or the stiffness of beams.

2. Medicine/Medical. an apparatus consisting of a pad usually supported by a belt for maintaining a hernia in a reduced state.

3. Horticulture. a compact terminal cluster or head of flowers growing upon one stalk.

4. Nautical. a device for supporting a standing yard, having a pivot permitting the yard to swing horizontally when braced.

5. a collection of things tied together or packed in a receptacle; bundle; pack.

6. Chiefly British. a bundle of hay or straw, especially one containing about 56 pounds (25.4 kilograms) of old hay, 60 pounds (27.2 kilograms) of new hay, or 36 pounds (16.3 kilograms) of straw.

truss British  

/ trʌs /

verb

1. (sometimes foll by up) to tie, bind, or bundle

   to truss up a prisoner

2. to fasten or bind the wings and legs of (a fowl) before cooking to keep them in place

3. to support or stiffen (a roof, bridge, etc) with structural members

4. informal to confine (the body or a part of it) in tight clothes

5. falconry (of falcons) to hold (the quarry) in the stoop without letting go

6. med to supply or support with a truss

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noun

1. a structural framework of wood or metal, esp one arranged in triangles, used to support a roof, bridge, etc

2. med a device for holding a hernia in place, typically consisting of a pad held in position by a belt

3. horticulture a cluster of flowers or fruit growing at the end of a single stalk

4. nautical a metal fitting fixed to a yard at its centre for holding it to a mast while allowing movement

5. architect another name for corbel

6. a bundle or pack

7. a bundle of hay or straw, esp one having a fixed weight of 36, 56, or 60 pounds

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• trusser
  noun
• undertruss
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• trusses
  plural

Participles

• trussing
  present
• trussed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• truss
  simple
• trusses
  simple
• have trussed
  perfect
• has trussed
  perfect
• am trussing
  progressive
• are trussing
  progressive
• is trussing
  progressive
• have been trussing
  perfect progressive
• has been trussing
  perfect progressive

Past

• trussed
  simple
• had trussed
  perfect
• was trussing
  progressive
• were trussing
  progressive
• had been trussing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will truss
  simple
• will have trussed
  perfect
• will be trussing
  progressive
• will have been trussing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of truss

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English verb trussen, from Old French tr(o)usser, variant of torser, probably from unattested Vulgar Latin torsāre, derivative of unattested torsus, for Latin tortus, past participle of torquere “to twist, wind, wrap”; Middle English noun trosse, trus, trusse “bundle,” from Old French trousse, torse, derivative of torser

Explanation

A truss is a framework that supports something, like a roof or a bridge. A steel beam that holds up a bridge is called a truss. Another kind of truss is a similar structure that's designed to support a roof. A truss refers to part of the design of a bridge, overpass, or building; or a medical device that keeps a hernia from bulging. Either way, a truss offers support. You can also use truss as a verb meaning "tie up." Many cooks are familiar with a recipe's instruction to truss a goose, for example, tying its wings and legs together before cooking it. A truss was originally "a collection of things bound together," with the Vulgar Latin root torciare, "to twist."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

truss trusses trussed trussing

An aluminum truss provided infrastructure, and custom joints, gimbals and animatronics gave the astronaut life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

It is to his credit that the cathedral is not a simulacrum or facsimile, but a Gothic building, in all its structural reality, even the invisible oak roof truss above the vaults.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

Absent those images, watching Lois debone, stuff and truss up a turducken would be mouthwatering.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2024

The wing is attached to the top of the fuselage and braced by a truss from the bottom of the fuselage.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2023

“They won’t let me. The lieutenant said I slipped the truss on purpose.”

From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway

In addition to the giant tsunami wall, the facility is now equipped with new backup power systems, reinforced walls, pipes and trusses to boost resilience in an earthquake.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

I saw that the house had great bones, beams and trusses, but it was just in disrepair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2025

The roof is long gone and huge timber roof trusses that once supported it have been stacked up in the street outside.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2025

According to a report from NPR, engineers will use “surgical precision” to cut the steel trusses trapping the container, which will then be “thrust away from the Dali” when explosives are detonated.

From Salon ● May 12, 2024

The smell of things burning that aren’t meant to burn wafts across the city: shoe polish, rat poison, toothpaste, piano strings, hernia trusses, baby cribs, Indian clubs.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

It’s a childish performance that is trussed up as an important meditation on the Declaration.

From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026

Don't cut your carrot on the board you just trussed the chicken on either.

From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2023

A teenage boy is with them, his arm encased in a crude, homemade splint, trussed together with string.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2017

I felt like a trussed turkey as the time came to give the rope that tethered me to the oak a pull.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2017

Lady Augusta Drear was no doubt being carried ashore, trussed up like a parcel.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

Don't go directly from trussing a chicken to chopping a carrot.

From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2023

PSSL: Many of PSSL’s Black Friday deals are for pro lighting and trussing, but one product in particular is worth noting: it’s offering the MXL Revelation Solo Tube Condenser Microphone for only $299.99.

From The Verge ● Nov. 22, 2017

In fact, Mr. Waxman said, a great turkey needn’t involve an all-day roasting marathon, or a battery of treatments such as brining, trussing and lacquering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2015

If you've ever roasted a whole chicken for dinner, or tackled the big task of roasting the turkey for Thanksgiving, you probably know the importance of tying up the bird, or "trussing."

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2014

On either side of us the cars hissed past; red on the left and white on the right, the lanes encased by thin metal trussing that stretched out from the walkway.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

Related Words

• beam