---
title: abutment — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «abutment» in the school dictionary: An abutment is a strong structure of stone, concrete or brick at each end of a bridge or arch that holds it up and takes its weight. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# abutment

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** abutment, arch, two things, stone abutments, Floodwater, we · **What happens:** be, hold up, take, touch, join, damage · **To what, where:** strong structure, abutment, weight, place, ends, bridge

<!-- .vabout -->
«abutment» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [abutment in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/abutment.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An abutment is a strong structure of stone, concrete or brick at each end of a bridge or arch that holds it up and takes its weight.

<!-- fold The tree, 27 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:abutment:m1:1
# text = An abutment is a strong structure of stone, concrete or brick at each end of a bridge or arch that holds it up and takes its weight.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	abutment	abutment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	structure	structure	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	stone	stone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	concrete	concrete	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	brick	brick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	15	det	_	_
15	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	bridge	bridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	arch	arch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	conj	_	_
21	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	22	nsubj	_	_
22	holds	hold	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	acl:relcl	_	_
23	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	obj	_	_
24	up	up	ADP	RP	_	22	compound:prt	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
26	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	22	conj	_	_
27	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	28	nmod:poss	_	_
28	weight	weight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a abutment | a strong structure and concrete at each end of a bridge or arch or brick |  |  |  | of stone | tree rules |
| 2 | **hold up** | present | arch | abutment |  |  |  |  | vn support-15.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot it=Theme |
| 3 | **take** | present | arch *not said here* | abutment's weight |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent weight=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An abutment is also the place where two things touch or join.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:abutment:m2:1
# text = An abutment is also the place where two things touch or join.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	abutment	abutment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	10	advmod	_	_
8	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	touch	touch	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	join	join	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a abutment | the place |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **touch** | present | two things |  |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **join** | present | two things *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The stone abutments hold up both ends of the bridge.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:abutment:x1:1
# text = The stone abutments hold up both ends of the bridge.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	stone	stone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	abutments	abutment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	hold	hold	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	up	up	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	7	det	_	_
7	ends	end	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	bridge	bridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold up** | present | the stone abutments | both ends of the bridge |  |  |  |  | vn support-15.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot end=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Floodwater damaged the abutment, so the bridge was closed.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:abutment:x2:1
# text = Floodwater damaged the abutment, so the bridge was closed.
1	Floodwater	Floodwater	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	damaged	damage	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	abutment	abutment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	bridge	bridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	closed	close	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **damage** | past | Floodwater | the abutment |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent abutment=Patient |
| 2 | **close** | past · passive |  | the bridge |  |  |  |  | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An arch pushes outwards, so it needs strong abutments.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:abutment:x3:1
# text = An arch pushes outwards, so it needs strong abutments.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	arch	arch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	pushes	push	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	outwards	outwards	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
9	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	abutments	abutment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **push** | present | a arch |  |  |  |  | outwards *property* | vn push-12-1-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **need** | present | arch | strong abutments |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot abutment=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In our bridge project, we used blocks as abutments.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:abutment:x4:1
# text = In our bridge project, we used blocks as abutments.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
3	bridge	bridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	project	project	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	blocks	block	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
9	as	as	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	abutments	abutment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | we | blocks |  | our bridge project |  | as abutments | vn spend\_time-104 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent block=Duration as abutment=Attribute |
| 2 | **project** |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom project «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old Roman bridge still rests on its original abutments.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:abutment:x5:1
# text = The old Roman bridge still rests on its original abutments.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	Roman	roman	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	bridge	bridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	still	still	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	rests	rest	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
9	original	original	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	abutments	abutment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rest** | present | the old Roman bridge |  |  | bridge's original abutments | still |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on abutment=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Engineers checked the abutments for cracks.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:abutment:x6:1
# text = Engineers checked the abutments for cracks.
1	Engineers	engineer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	checked	check	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	abutments	abutment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	cracks	crack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **check** | past | Engineers | the abutments |  |  |  | for cracks | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent abutment=Theme for crack=Attribute |

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**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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