Pont levis Heavy timber platform built to span a moat between a gate house and surrounding land that could be raised using ropes or chains, to block the entrance, when required Hemyock Castle is believed to have had a counter-weighted drawbridge, pivoted at the inner end
A drawbridge was a long extension that could be drawn up or swiveled so that the enemy could not enter the castle Typically, a drawbridge lay over a moat, which was a deep ditch filled with water
A bridge of which either the whole or a part is made to be raised up, let down, or drawn or turned aside, to admit or hinder communication at pleasure, as before the gate of a town or castle, or over a navigable river or canal
a general term applied to a bridge over a navigable body of water having a movable superstructure span of any type permitting the channel to be freed of its obstruction to navigation; popular but imprecise term
Everyone knows what a drawbridge is There were basically three types: (1) a simple sliding platform over the ditch that could be pulled back, (2) a raising bridge pulled up by chains attached to the outer corners, and (3) a bridge with posts reaching out over the top, with the chains hanging vertically from the posts (this had 'leverage' advantages)
A drawbridge is a bridge that can be pulled up, for example to prevent people from getting into a castle or to allow ships to pass underneath it. a bridge that can be pulled up to stop people from entering a castle, or to let ships pass