A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word drawbridge commonly refers to all types of moveable bridges, such as bascule bridges, vertical-lift bridges and swing bridges, but this article concerns the narrower historical definition of the term where the bridge is used in a defensive structure.
Drawbridge at the fort of Ponta da Bandeira in Lagos, Portugal
A double-beam drawbridge, The Poortbrug in Leeuwarden, Netherlands
A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with drawbridge, and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical definition used in some other forms of English, in which drawbridge refers to only a specific type of moveable bridge often found in castles.
Madison Street Bridge, a bascule bridge over the Chicago River in Chicago, IL
The Rode Brug (Red Bridge) across the Vecht river in Utrecht, Netherlands
The Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge in New York City