Link Centre Dictionary

bridgehead

brid·ge·head

UK/ˈbɹɪd͡ʒhɛd/ US/ˈbrɪˌdʒhɛd/ uncommon

noun

1.

an area in hostile territory that has been captured and is held awaiting further troops and supplies

  • “an attempt to secure a bridgehead behind enemy lines”
  • “the only foothold left for British troops in Europe was Gibraltar”
Synonyms
2.

a defensive post at the end of a bridge nearest to the enemy

Origin

Calque of French tête de pont, equivalent to bridge + head.

Related words

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.