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Civil Engineering & Construction vocabulary · Structures and Loads

Load-bearing

Meaning in civil engineering & construction, with examples

adjectiveCore term

In civil engineering & construction, load-bearing means: Describes a wall or other element that carries weight from the structure above, so it cannot be removed without providing another support.

In Turkish: taşıyıcı, yük taşıyan

How it is used

Most often in 'load-bearing wall'. Before alterations people ask whether a wall is load-bearing or non-load-bearing (a partition). Masonry buildings without a frame are load-bearing structures.

Example sentences

  1. You can't open a doorway there; it's a load-bearing wall.

  2. The old school is a load-bearing masonry building with timber floors.

Common collocations

  • load-bearing wall
  • non-load-bearing
  • load-bearing masonry
  • load-bearing capacity
  • loadA force that a structure has to carry, such as its own weight, people and furniture, wind, snow or an earthquake. Engineers usually express it in kilonewtons (kN).
  • columnA vertical structural member that collects loads from the beams and slabs above and carries them down to the foundations.
  • beamA horizontal structural member that carries loads across an opening and passes them to the columns or walls at its ends. It works mainly in bending.
  • foundationThe lowest part of a structure, usually below ground, which spreads the building's loads safely into the soil or rock underneath.

More terms: Structures and Loads

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