load-bearing.

Carrying part of a building's structural weight rather than merely dividing or enclosing a space.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• load-bearing wall
• load-bearing structure
• load-bearing masonry

On the page

They could not remove the load-bearing wall to enlarge the kitchen.

A thin partition hid the original load-bearing masonry.

The surveyor marked each load-bearing wall on the plan.

Usage notes

Primary category: architecture. Usually before wall or structure; not every thick wall is load-bearing, so appearance alone does not establish the role. Adjective; normally non-gradable. Spelling loadbearing also occurs.