Glossary
Bridge Tender Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential bridge tender terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key bridge tender vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in bridge tender training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Air draft
- Vessel height above water.
- Army Corps
- Federal agency for locks.
- Barge tow
- Tug with barges.
- Bascule bridge
- Drawbridge that lifts.
- Clearance
- Space under a bridge.
- Downstream
- With the current.
- Gate
- Lock or traffic gate.
- Lift bridge
- Bridge span that rises.
- Lock chamber
- Water chamber in a lock.
- Lockage
- Passing a vessel through.
- Marked waterway.
- Opening log
- Record of openings.
- Swing bridge
- Bridge that rotates.
- Upstream
- Against the current.
- VHF
- Marine radio.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Bridge Tender practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Bridge Tender training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.