If you struggle with the pronunciations or the names of elements in civil engineering, or you simply don't know them. Here is a list of 20 words you can learn related to civil engineering. There will be French translations, descriptions and pronunciations models. I used google to help me find pictures of every term you will see, master them, so you could understand what civil engineers talk about.
abutment
noun
An abutment is a solid structure or piece that supports, holds up, or receives the weight and sideways pressure (thrust) from another object, like a bridge or an arch.
Example: The bridge abutment supports the structure and holds back the soil behind it.
en: culée
backfill
noun/verb
A backfill is the process of refilling an excavated hole with the same soil or material that was just removed, or hiring a new person to fill an open job position.
Example: The BACKFILL of the enclosure ditches consisted of chalk rubble and various soil types, together with limited finds including animal bone and pottery,.
en: remblai
blueprint
noun
A blueprint is a detailed technical drawing or a clear plan that guides how to build or achieve something in the future.
Example: Stage-Gate Systems According to Cooper (1990, p.44), "a stage-gate system is both a conceptual and an operational model for moving a new product from idea to launch...a BLUEPRINT for managing the new product process to improve effectiveness and efficiency".
en: plan
cantilever
noun
A cantilever is a rigid structural element, like a beam or slab, that is firmly fixed or anchored at one end while the other end projects into space without any vertical support.
Example: One washer at a time is added to the end of the CANTILEVER, and the output of the amplifier is recorded. Note also that the output fluctuates as the CANTILEVER oscillates at the instant the load is applied, before settling.
en: cantilever
cofferdam
noun
A cofferdam is a temporary, watertight enclosure built in or around a body of water so the inside can be pumped dry for construction or repair work.
Example: In 1962, in order to raise the ships safely it was necessary to drain the whole area of the site (ca. 2,500m 2 ) by building a COFFERDAM.
en: batardeau
culvert
noun
A culvert is a tunnel or pipe structure that channels water past an obstacle or under a road, railway, or pathway.
Example: The engineers designed a culvert to allow water to flow safely under the road.
en: ponceau
drainage
noun
Drainage means the natural or artificial removal of water and other liquids from an area, surface, or body.
Example: A substantial site analysis should be carried out to determine the dimensions of the site, the topography and DRAINAGE.
en: drainage
earthwork
noun
An earthwork is a large-scale structure or process made by moving, shaping, or excavating soil and rock.
Example: Farming can also be investigated by looking at the EARTHWORK remains of field boundaries seen through aerial photography and the charred or fossilised remains of crops grown by the peasants.
en: terrassement
excavation
noun
Excavation means the act or process of digging and removing soil, rock, or other materials from the ground. It also refers to the hollowed-out cavity or site created by this digging.
Example: This can be identified from roads, present in the archaeological record through aerial photography, archaeological EXCAVATION and indeed the very roads that penetrate modern towns today.
en: excavation
formwork
noun
Formwork is a temporary or permanent mold into which wet concrete is poured and shaped until it hardens and gains enough strength to support itself.
Example: Other sub-contractors included Eiffel Construction Metallique (responsible for Steel Construction), Greisch (responsible for deck construction), Munch (responsible for pylons) and PERI (responsible for FORMWORK and Scaffholding).
en: coffrage
geotechnical
adjective
Geotechnical means relating to the branch of engineering that studies how rocks, soil, and underground water affect human-made structures.
Example: The engineers conducted a geotechnical investigation to determine the soil conditions before construction.
en: géotechnique
geotextile
noun
Geotextile is a permeable fabric made from synthetic polymers like polypropylene or polyester that improves soil stability, separates layers, and manages water in construction and landscaping projects.
Example: Engineers use geotextile to stabilize the soil and improve drainage.
en: géotextile
mortar
noun
A workable paste made of sand, water, and cement or lime.Spread between bricks, stones, or concrete blocks to glue them together.
Example: Bricks and clicks (or clicks and MORTAR) - relating to a company that combines traditional methods of selling with Internet selling.
en: mortier
rebar
noun
Rebar is short for reinforcing bar, which is a steel rod or mesh embedded in concrete to add tensile strength and prevent cracking.
Example: The workers placed rebar inside the concrete foundation to make it stronger.
en: barre d'armature
reinforcement
noun
Physical support: Adding material to make a structure or object stronger. For example, adding steel bars to concrete or putting extra beams under a bridge.
Example: This indicates that the laminate is insufficient and that REINFORCEMENT is therefore required in the circumferential direction using 90â—¦ plies.
en: renforcement
retaining wall
noun
A retaining wall is a rigid structural barrier designed to hold or retain soil laterally at two different elevations, preventing it from sliding or collapsing into a natural, steeper slope.
Example: The engineers built a retaining wall to prevent the soil from sliding.
en: mur de soutènement
sewer
noun
A sewer is a large, usually underground pipe or channel that carries waste water and human waste away from buildings
Example: The workers are repairing the sewer under the road.
en: égout
slab
noun
A slab is a thick, flat, and broad piece of a solid material like stone, wood, concrete, or metal.
Example: Floor systems concrete slabs - two-way SLAB and beam, two-way flat panel, two-way waffle SLAB, two-way flat SLAB and span range (Ching, 2001a).
en: dalle
spalling
noun
Spalling means the chipping, flaking, or breaking away of surface material—such as concrete, stone, brick, or metal—from a larger structure.
Example: The engineer noticed spalling in the concrete wall and recommended repairs.
en: écaillage
subgrade
noun
A subgrade is the native soil or prepared earth surface that lies at the very bottom of a construction project, serving as the foundational support for a road, pavement, railway track, or building foundation.
Example: The workers prepared the subgrade before installing the new road pavement.
