abutment

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The act or process of abutting.
2. n. Something that abuts.
3. n. The point of contact of two abutting objects or parts.
4. n. The part of a structure that bears the weight or pressure of an arch.
5. n. A structure that supports the end of a bridge.
6. n. A structure that anchors the cables of a suspension bridge.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The state or condition of abutting.
2. n. That which abuts or borders on something else; the part abutting or abutted upon or against. Specifically— Any body or surface designed to resist the thrust or reaction of any material structure, vapor, gas, or liquid that may press upon it; particularly, in architecture, the portion of a pier or other structure that receives the thrust of an arch or vault; a stationary wedge, block, or surface against which water, gas, or steam may react, as in a rotary pump or engine; the lower part of a dock or bridge-pier designed to resist ice or currents in a stream, etc. See bridge and impost. In carpentry: The shoulder of a joiner's plane between which and the plane-bit the wedge is driven. E. H. Knight. Two pieces of wood placed together with the grain of each at a right angle with the other. Their meeting forms an abutting joint.
3. n. Sometimes shortened to butment.

Wiktionary

1. n. The state of abutting.
2. n. architecture That element that shares a common boundary or surface with its neighbor.
3. n. dentistry The tooth that supports a denture or bridge.
4. n. A fixed point or surface where resistance is obtained.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. State of abutting.
2. n. That on or against which a body abuts or presses.
3. n. (Arch.) The solid part of a pier or wall, etc., which receives the thrust or lateral pressure of an arch, vault, or strut.
4. n. (Mech.) A fixed point or surface from which resistance or reaction is obtained, as the cylinder head of a steam engine, the fulcrum of a lever, etc.
5. n. In breech-loading firearms, the block behind the barrel which receives the pressure due to recoil.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. point of contact between two objects or parts
2. n. a masonry support that touches and directly receives thrust or pressure of an arch or bridge