Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A fortified position from which troops defend the end of a bridge nearest the enemy.
  • noun A forward position seized by advancing troops in enemy territory as a foothold for further advance.
  • noun The area immediately adjacent to the end of a bridge.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In fortification, a work covering that end of a bridge which is most exposed to an enemy; a tête-de-pont.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A fortification commanding the extremity of a bridge nearest the enemy, to insure the preservation and usefulness of the bridge, and prevent the enemy from crossing; a tête-de-pont.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An area around the end of a bridge.
  • noun military A fortification around the end of a bridge.
  • noun military An area of ground on the enemy's side of a bridge, especially one that needs to be taken and defended in order to secure an advance.
  • noun chemistry Either of the two atoms in different parts of a molecule that are connected by a bridge.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an area in hostile territory that has been captured and is held awaiting further troops and supplies
  • noun a defensive post at the end of a bridge nearest to the enemy

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Translation of French tête de pont : tête, head + de, of + pont, bridge.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

bridge +‎ -head; A calque translation of the French tête de pont.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word bridgehead.

Examples

  • Close by the bridgehead was a curious structure like a huge beehive, about ten feet high and built of stone blocks.

    Flashman And The Mountain Of Light Fraser, George MacDonald, 1925- 1990

  • Finally there was the so-called bridgehead of Zagrody which was constructed for the protection of the street and railroad bridges crossing the river to the east of Radymno.

    New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5, August, 1915 Various

  • By taking over the company, OMV said it was raising its presence in Turkey, which it considers a "bridgehead" to the Middle East and the Caspian region.

    OMV Taking Over Petrol Ofisi of Turkey - NYTimes.com 2010

  • The TUV founder predicted victory would form a "bridgehead" which would win the party seats in next year's assembly elections.

    Elections - fresh news by plazoo.com 2010

  • WALES will benefit from the London Olympics if it uses the Games as a "bridgehead" to bring sport into education, Sebastian Coe insisted today.

    WalesOnline - Home 2009

  • With one million German settlers in Brazil already, he argued the seedcorn was already there for the expansion of the Third Reich and that they could secure a 'bridgehead' against American influence in the region.

    Aftermath News 2008

  • With one million German settlers in Brazil already, he argued the seedcorn was already there for the expansion of the Third Reich and that they could secure a 'bridgehead' against American influence in the region.

    Aftermath News 2008

  • With one million German settlers in Brazil already, he argued the seedcorn was already there for the expansion of the Third Reich and that they could secure a 'bridgehead' against American influence in the region.

    Aftermath News 2008

  • With one million German settlers in Brazil already, he argued the seedcorn was already there for the expansion of the Third Reich and that they could secure a 'bridgehead' against American influence in the region.

    Aftermath News 2008

  • Only a directive from Montgomery stopped the 2nd Armored Division from seizing a Rhine bridgehead south of Düsseldorf.

    Between War and Peace Col. Matthew Moten 2011

  • The 100-year-old Bredt’s rule — which was proposed in 1924 by organic chemist Julius Bredt — states that, in small molecules made up of two rings that share atoms, such as some types of alkene, double bonds between two carbon atoms cannot occur where the rings join together, called the bridgehead position.

    Chemists make ‘impossible’ molecules that break 100-year-old bonding rule Gemma Conroy 2024

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.