Meaning & use
drawbridge
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Meanings
nouncountable
A bridge that can be raised or lowered, especially one at the entrance to a castle.
Grammar: Countable: a drawbridge, two drawbridges.
Patterns
- raise the drawbridge
- lower the drawbridge
The castle had a drawbridge over the moat.
They raised the drawbridge to keep enemies out.
We walked across the drawbridge into the old fortress.
nouncountable
A bridge that can be lifted to let boats pass, especially over a waterway.
Grammar: Countable: a drawbridge, several drawbridges.
Patterns
- open the drawbridge
- close the drawbridge
The drawbridge opened to let the tall ship through.
Traffic stopped while the drawbridge was raised.
The city has several drawbridges over the river.
Word forms
| plural | drawbridges |
|---|
Common combinations
- raise the drawbridge
- The guards raised the drawbridge at sunset.
- lower the drawbridge
- They lowered the drawbridge to let us in.
- castle drawbridge
- The castle drawbridge was made of heavy wood.
- drawbridge over the moat
- A drawbridge over the moat led to the main gate.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lift bridge
- This is a more general term for a bridge that can be raised, not just at a castle.
- bascule bridge
- This is a technical term for a type of drawbridge with a counterweight.
Commonly confused: drawbridge or drawbridge?
drawbridge vs drawbridge
Not to be confused with 'draw bridge' (two words), which is not standard.
Practice
The castle was surrounded by a moat, and a ______ could be raised to keep out enemies.
Choose one answer.
A 'drawbridge' is a bridge that can be raised, fitting the castle context. The other options are unrelated phrases or words.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “drawbridge”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.