Abutment

1. n. In breech-loading firearms, the block behind the barrel which receives the pressure due to recoil.
2. n. State of abutting.
3. n. That on or against which a body abuts or presses
4. n. The solid part of a pier or wall, etc., which receives the thrust or lateral pressure of an arch, vault, or strut.
5. n. A fixed point or surface from which resistance or reaction is obtained, as the cylinder head of a steam engine, the fulcrum of a lever, etc.

The word meanings were obtained from OPTED(The Online Plain Text English Dictionary), which is based on “The Project Gutenberg Etext of Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary” which is in turn based on the 1913 US Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (See Project Gutenburg), as a text file.