noun
truss
TRUSS/trʌs/
A framework supporting a load.
A triangular timber truss spans the walls and supports the roof.
Etymology
The earlier image is a bundle of things bound together. In construction, truss came to name a framework of joined members supporting a roof or bridge, rather than a bundle carried as a pack.
In context
continued to develop. A clearance of 135 ft over a navigation channel 2,000 ft wide at that stage of the river required main spans of a length that the cantilever truss configuration could achieve
More examples
- Steel trusses support the bridge across the river.
- The carpenter checks each roof truss for loose joints.
- He wears a medical truss to support his hernia.
Forms
truss · trusses
Similar words
- framework
- A broader term for supporting structures, not necessarily joined triangles.
- brace
- Usually a single reinforcing support rather than an entire framework.