skewback.

An inclined surface or supporting block against which the end of an arch bears.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• stone skewback
• arch skewback

On the page

The first arch stone rested against the skewback.

Damage to the skewback disturbed the arch’s footing.

Usage notes

Primary category: architecture. Forms: Singular skewback; plural skewbacks. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.