Republic of. Formerly Netherlands East Indies, Dutch East Indies. a republic in the Malay Archipelago consisting of 13,677 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, the S part of Borneo, the W part of New Guinea, the Moluccas, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Bali, and Madura: gained independence from the Netherlands in 1949.
Definition of truss. 1 : an iron band around a lower mast with an attachment by which a yard is secured to the mast. 2a : bracket 1b : an assemblage of members (such as beams) forming a rigid framework. 3 : a device worn to reduce a hernia by pressure.
Truss bridge. A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads.