# girder vs girdle

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### girder
*noun · IPA /ˈɡɜːdə(ɹ)/ · frequency rank #41,147*
A beam of steel, wood, or reinforced concrete, used as a main horizontal support in a building or structure.

### girdle
*noun · IPA /ˈɡɝdl̩/ · frequency rank #36,581*
That which girds, encircles, or encloses; a circumference.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/girder-vs-girdle