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Glite Dictionary
spreader beam

spreader beam

8.5
A beam that sits below a crane hook to spread weight when lifting heavy objects
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : viga de esparcimiento
  • To lift the heavy steel plate safely, they used a spreader beam connected to the crane.

Examples

  • The construction team attached the spreader beam to the crane hook to ensure the load was balanced.

  • The magnets can be equipped with ram horns on spreader beams for nonferrous loads.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The engineer explained how the spreader beam helps to evenly distribute the weight during the lifting process.

Synonyms

beam
vsspreader beam
104 2.7

A long strong piece of wood, metal, or concrete that supports part of a building

is placed under a crane hook to distribute loads with slings

Surface Forms

spreader beam singular
spreader beams plural

Morphology

spreader + beam

The noun is directly compositional: 'spreader' denotes something that spreads or distributes and 'beam' denotes a structural/lifting member, so a 'spreader beam' is a beam that spreads/distributes a load. This follows regular English compounding in technical vocabulary and would be inferable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Spreader beam The noun spreader beam comes from the tool's shape and job: spreader means something that pushes things apart and beam is a long bar. A spreader beam keeps the ropes or slings apart so a crane can 'spread' the 'load' and stop the load from bending when lifting.