gantry

noun

gan·​try ˈgan-trē 

plural gantries

1

: a frame for supporting barrels

2

: a frame structure raised on side supports so as to span over or around something: such as

a

: a platform made to carry a traveling crane and supported by towers or side frames running on parallel tracks

also : a movable structure with platforms at different levels used for erecting and servicing rockets before launching

b

: a structure spanning several railroad tracks and displaying signals for each

Examples of gantry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The display on the gantry would tell when that lane is open or closed. —Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2025

For four consecutive days, dozens of activists from the British environmental group Just Stop Oil climbed onto and occupied the gantries, or bridges, overlooking the highway, forcing the police to halt traffic. —Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2025

As per the Premier League’s rules for 2024-25, the TV gantry needs to be at least 19 metres wide and two metres deep. —Dan Sheldon, The Athletic, 13 Aug. 2024

SpaceX The booster, meanwhile, flipped around, re-ignited several engines to reverse course and headed back toward Boca Chica where the unique mechanical arms on the rocket's launch gantry were open and waiting. —William Harwood, CBS News, 17 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English gauntree, reshaping (perhaps conformed to tre tree entry 1) of ganter, borrowed from Anglo-French *ganter (Old French —Picard— gantier, Old French chantier), going back to Latin cantērius, canthērius "horse of poor quality, rafter, prop for vines," akin to Greek kanthḗlia "panniers," (ónos) kanthḗlios "pack ass," both loanwords from an undetermined Mediterranean language

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gantry

• chantry
• pantry

Kids Definition

gantry

noun

gan·​try ˈgan-trē 

plural gantries

1

: a platform made to carry a traveling crane and supported by towers running on parallel tracks

2

: a movable structure used for erecting and servicing rockets before launching

3

: a structure spanning several railroad tracks and displaying signals