Tacoma Narrows Bridge

6.8

A bridge held up by tall cables over Puget Sound at Tacoma, Washington, famous for collapsing in 1940

proper noun
/təˈkoʊmə ˈnɛroʊz brɪdʒ/

: Puente Tacoma Narrows

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge famously collapsed in 1940 due to wind-induced vibrations.

Examples

Engineers studied the failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to improve suspension bridge design worldwide.
Thousands of cars cross the Tacoma Narrows Bridge every day, connecting Tacoma with the Kitsap Peninsula.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed in 1940.
Have you ever seen the Tacoma Narrows Bridge?
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is an iconic structure that showcases advanced engineering techniques used in suspension bridges.
Renowned for its historical significance, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge suffered a dramatic collapse in 1940.
Many visitors travel to see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which spans the beautiful waters of Puget Sound.

Surface Forms

Tacoma Narrows Bridge main

Morphology

Tacoma + narrow + bridge

The phrase is a compositional toponym: 'Tacoma' (a city) + 'Narrows' (a narrow waterway) + 'Bridge' (a built span), so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer it denotes a bridge at/over a narrow channel near Tacoma. This follows a common, non-idiomatic naming pattern cross-linguistically, so the overall meaning is directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Tacoma Narrows Bridge gets its name from the narrow stretch of water called the Tacoma Narrows that the bridge crosses. It became famous when the bridge began to twist and then collapsed in strong wind in 1940, so engineers still study it today to learn how to build safer bridges.