Can"ta*lev`er (?), n. [Cant an external angle + lever a supporter of the roof timber of a house.] [Written also cantaliver and cantilever.] 1. (Arch.) A bracket to support a balcony, a cornice, or the like.

2. (Engin.) A projecting beam, truss, or bridge unsupported at the outer end; one which overhangs.

Cantalever bridge, a bridge in which the principle of the cantalever is applied. It is usually a trussed bridge, composed of two portions reaching out from opposite banks, and supported near the middle of their own length on piers which they overhang, thus forming cantalevers which meet over the space to be spanned or sustain a third portion, to complete the connection.