bridge1
Pronunciation: /brɪdʒ/
noun
- 1a structure carrying a road, path, railway, etc. across a river, road, or other obstacle: a bridge across the River Thames a railway bridge
- something intended to reconcile or connect two seemingly incompatible things: a committee which was formed to create a bridge between rival party groups
- short for land bridge.
- 2the elevated, enclosed platform on a ship from which the captain and officers direct operations: Talbot stepped across the two gunwales and made his way up to the bridge
- 3the upper bony part of a person’s nose: he pushed his spectacles further up the bridge of his nose
- the central part of a pair of glasses, fitting over the bridge of the nose: these sunglasses have a special nose bridge for comfort
- 5 Music the part of a stringed instrument over which the strings are stretched: ebony bridges and fingerboards
verb

Phrases
-
a bridge too far
- a step or act that is regarded as being too drastic to take: having Botox would be a bridge too far
- something that is very difficult to achieve: that second goal proved a bridge too far
-
build bridges
- promote friendly relations between groups: the challenge for all politicians now is to build bridges between communities
-
cross that bridge when one comes to it
- deal with a problem when and if it arises.

Origin:
Old English brycg (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch brug and German Brücke