build bridges
English
WOTD – 3 October 2022
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /bɪld ˈbɹɪd͡ʒɪz/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪdʒɪz
- Hyphenation: build bridg‧es
Verb
build bridges (third-person singular simple present builds bridges, present participle building bridges, simple past and past participle built bridges)
- (intransitive, idiomatic) Often followed by between or to: to establish friendly relations or links.
- Antonym: burn one's bridges
- to build bridges between China and the West
- 2021 November 29, Nicola Sturgeon, “Nicola Sturgeon’s Full Speech to #SNP21 Conference”, in Scottish National Party, archived from the original on 9 May 2022:
- The Tories appear to have embarked on permanent conflict with the European Union. Instead of building bridges they are burning them.
Derived terms
- bridge-builder
- bridge-building
Related terms
- build a bridge and get over it
- burn that bridge when one comes to it
- cross that bridge when one comes to it
Translations
to establish friendly relations or links
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Further reading
- “to build bridges, v.” under “build, v.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2020. - “build bridges, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.