C-pillar

noun

C-pil·​lar ˈsē-ˈpi-lər 

variants or less commonly C-post

ˈsē-ˈpōst 

plural C-pillars also C-posts

: either one of two support posts that connect a vehicle's roof to its body at the rear of the rear door in a four-door vehicle or at the rear of a two-door vehicle

The 2¹/₂-in.-shorter hood, the stretched out C-pillar and the elevation of the trunk …

—Don Chaikin, Popular Mechanics, October 1999

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined above

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