abutted

Abutted is the past tense of the verb abut. To abut means to touch or form a boundary with another object or area, typically along a shared edge. The term is used in geography, real estate, architecture, and surveying to describe where one site or feature directly borders another.

In property and land use, parcels abutt if their boundaries meet along a line or point. A building may abut a street, a fence may abut a neighboring yard, or two walls may abut along their length. Abutted boundaries are often noted in maps, deeds, and legal descriptions to establish adjacency and to determine rights of access or setback requirements.

Abutting is the present participle form and is commonly used as an adjective, as in “an abutting property.” The noun form abutment refers to the physical interface or support, such as the structure that forms a bridge’s abutment. In contrast, adjoin is a synonymous verb that can imply proximity without necessarily indicating shared contact. The term abut is frequently found in formal or technical contexts, including surveying, planning, and law, where precise boundary relationships are important.

Origin and usage are grounded in the verb abut itself. The word appears across historical and contemporary texts to describe direct adjacency, whether between parcels, structures, or other features. In everyday language, speakers may opt for simpler expressions like “borders,” “touches,” or “next to,” but abut remains standard in professional writing.