stud
n. countablen. a small piece of metal or wood that sticks out from a surface. You often see these on the bottom of sports shoes to help you grip the ground, or inside walls to hold them up.
n. a small, protruding projection or fastener used for support, decoration, or traction. In construction, refers to a vertical framing member in a building's wall; in mechanics, a bolt without a head that is threaded on both ends.
The mechanic replaced a broken stud on the car's wheel.
Before hanging the heavy bookshelf, he used a sensor to find a wooden stud behind the drywall for better support.
The engineer specified that each steel stud must be spaced exactly sixteen inches apart to ensure the structural integrity of the partition wall under high wind loads.
From Middle English stood, stod, from Old English stōd, from Proto-West Germanic stōd, from Proto-Germanic stōdą. Cognate with Middle Low German stōt, German Stute, Dutch stoet and Old Norse stóð.
Inherited from Middle English stude, from Old English studu, from Proto-West Germanic stuþ, from Proto-Germanic stuþs.
Commonly used in technical contexts like construction, jewelry, and automotive engineering.