Trestle

//ˈtɹɛsəl// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A horizontal member supported near each end by a pair of divergent legs, such as sawhorses.
  2. 2
    sawhorses used in pairs to support a horizontal tabletop wordnet
  3. 3
    A folding or fixed set of legs used to support a tabletop or planks.

    "He turned the knob, but the door was locked. Retracing his steps past a vacant lot, the young man entered a shop where a colored man was employed in varnishing a coffin, which stood on two trestles in the middle of the floor."

  4. 4
    a supporting tower used to support a bridge wordnet
  5. 5
    A framework, using spreading, divergent pairs of legs used to support a bridge.
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  1. 6
    A trestle bridge.

Synonyms

All synonyms
beambranchbuckcable railwayclotheshorsecog railway

Example

More examples

"Basically, a trestle table is a plank set on two trestles."

Etymology

From Middle English trestel, from Old French trestel (“crossbeam”) (French tréteau), from Latin trānstellum, diminutive of trānstrum.

Related phrases

saw-trestletrestle bedtrestle boardtrestle tabletrestle treetrestle bridge

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.