Cantilever Definition

kăntl-ēvər, -ĕvər
cantilevered, cantilevers
noun
A projecting beam or structure supported at only one end, that is anchored as to a pier or wall.
Webster's New World
A large bracket or block projecting from a wall to support a balcony, cornice, etc.
Webster's New World
A member, such as a beam, that projects beyond a fulcrum and is supported by a balancing member or a downward force behind the fulcrum.
American Heritage
verb
To support by means of cantilevers.
Webster's New World
To extend outward as or in the manner of a cantilever.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Cantilever

Noun

Singular:
cantilever
Plural:
cantilevers

Origin of Cantilever

  • Registered first in the 17th Century: 1660s, probably from cant (2) + lever, but earliest form (c.1610) was cantlapper. First element also may be Sp. can - "dog", an architect's term for an end of timber jutting out of a wall, on which beams rested.

    From Wiktionary

  • Perhaps cant lever

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to cantilever using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

cantilever