bridge
I
 /ˈbrıʤ/  noun  ,  pl   bridg·es [  count  ]
  1 : a structure built over something (such as a river) so that people or vehicles can get across
   a bridge connecting the island to the mainland
   the Brooklyn Bridge
   a railroad bridge [=a bridge for trains]
  — see also drawbridge, footbridge, suspension bridge
  2 : something that joins or connects different people or things
   Her work serves as a bridge between the past and the present.
   They hope to build a bridge between the two cultures. [=they hope to help the people in the two cultures understand each other]
  3 : the place on a ship where the ship is steered
  4 a : the upper part of the nose
   He broke the bridge of his nose.
  4 b : the part of a pair of eyeglasses that rests on a person's nose
  5 : the part of a guitar, violin, or similar musical instrument that raises the strings away from the surface
  6 : part of a song that connects one section to the next section
  7 : a false tooth or row of false teeth that fits between two real teeth
  burn your bridges — see burn, 1
  cross that bridge when you come to it
   ◇ If you say you will cross that bridge when you come to it, you mean that you will not worry about a possible problem until it actually happens.
    I don't know how we'll pay the bills if you quit your job, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
   
  water under the bridge — see water
 — compare bridge, 3
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II
  verb  , bridges, bridged, bridg·ing [  + obj  ]
  : to make a bridge over or across (something)
  — usually used figuratively
   We hope to bridge the divisions between the two groups.
  — often used in the phrase bridge the gap
   styles that bridge the gap between fashion and practicality
   a book that attempts to bridge the generation gap
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III
  noun   [  noncount  ]
  : a card game for four players in two teams
 — compare bridge, 1