skewback

skew·back

(skyo͞o′băk′)

Either of two inset abutments sloped to support an arch.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

skewback

(ˈskjuːˌbæk)

1. (Architecture) the sloping surface on both sides of a segmental arch that takes the thrust

2. (Architecture) one or more stones that provide such a surface

ˈskewˌbacked adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

skew•back

(ˈskyuˌbæk)

n.

a sloping surface against which the end of an arch rests.

[1695–1705]

References in periodicals archive

Each skewback on the Arizona and Nevada sides of the new bridge has huge concrete columns that were topped with a tower during construction.

Colossal construction: how engineers built a record-setting bridge downstream from the Hoover Dam

Class 4 Lewis T Edwards Perpetual Challenge Cup (Open Machine Shearing Skewback): 1, Brian Bayliss; 2, Russ Jones; 3, Nic Wellington.

Women return to shearing challenge

If the walls were located on centerlines of the skewback columns, straight dowel connections could have been used between walls and columns and footings.

BRIDGE REHABILITATION SOLVES Water Seepage Problems

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