Page "Strut" Paragraph 6

Transportation-related struts are used in " load bearing " applications ranging from both highway and off-road suspensions to automobile hood and hatch window supports to aircraft wing supports.

In vehicle suspension systems, struts are most commonly an assembly of coil-over spring and shock absorber.

Other variants to using a coil-over spring as the compressible load bearer include support via pressurized nitrogen gas acting as the spring, and rigid ( hard tail ) support which provides neither longitudinal compression / extension nor damping.