bolster
Americannoun
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bolsters
plural
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a long, often cylindrical, cushion or pillow for a bed, sofa, etc.
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anything resembling this in form or in use as a support.
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any pillow, cushion, or pad.
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Nautical.
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Also called bolster plate. a circular casting on the side of a vessel, through which an anchor chain passes.
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a timber used as a temporary support.
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a beam for holding lines or rigging without chafing.
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a bag filled with buoyant material, fitted into a small boat.
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Metalworking. an anvillike support for the lower die of a drop forge.
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Masonry.
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a timber or the like connecting two ribs of a centering.
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a chisel with a blade splayed toward the edge, used for cutting bricks.
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Carpentry. a horizontal timber on a post for lessening the free span of a beam.
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a structural member on which one end of a bridge truss rests.
verb (used with object)
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bolsters,
present (3rd person singular)
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bolstered,
past participle, past
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bolstering
present participle
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to support with or as with a pillow or cushion.
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to add to, support, strengthen, or uphold (sometimes followed byup ).
They bolstered their morale by singing.
He bolstered up his claim with new evidence.
- Synonyms:
- fortify, reinforce, aid, sustain, strengthen
verb
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(often foll by up) to support or reinforce; strengthen
to bolster morale
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to prop up with a pillow or cushion
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to add padding to
to bolster a dress
noun
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a long narrow pillow or cushion
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any pad or padded support
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architect a short horizontal length of timber fixed to the top of a post to increase the bearing area and reduce the span of the supported beam
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a cold chisel having a broad blade splayed towards the cutting edge, used for cutting stone slabs, etc
Synonym Usage
See cushion.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bolstersimple
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bolsterssimple
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have bolsteredperfect
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has bolsteredperfect
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am bolsteringprogressive
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are bolsteringprogressive
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is bolsteringprogressive
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have been bolsteringperfect progressive
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has been bolsteringperfect progressive
Past
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bolsteredsimple
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had bolsteredperfect
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was bolsteringprogressive
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were bolsteringprogressive
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had been bolsteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bolster
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bolstre (noun), Old English bolster; cognate with Old Norse bolstr, Dutch bolster, German Polster
Explanation
When you cheer up a friend who's feeling down, you bolster them. To bolster is to offer support or strengthen. A bolster is also the name of a long pillow you might use to make your back feel better. And the two uses are not dissimilar. When you bolster your friends, you support them and prop them up, just like the pillow does for your back. When you're trying to bolster your credibility, you find people and/or documents that support you or your view. Bolster efforts to learn this word!
Vocabulary lists containing bolster
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "B" & "C"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The two "agreed to accelerate force posture initiatives at Australian bases, bolster cooperation in combined logistics, and build greater interoperability through joint exercises," the Pentagon said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
For China, the three-day Egypt visit is part of an effort to bolster Xi’s image as a global statesman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
State lawmakers have approved a series of modest changes intended to bolster California’s film and TV tax credit program.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed troops across Gauteng province in March to bolster police operations against crime and illegal mining.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
She was just trying to bolster my mood and keep my spirits up—and maybe my courage, too.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
They also used footage to piece together Mangione's alleged movements after the shooting, and ballistics and fingerprint evidence they claim bolsters their case.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
In a broadly sweet, vivacious and gorgeously sung set Tuesday, that sentiment revealed the moral clarity that bolsters her songs about devotion and intimacy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
The way everyone responded to this error—by turning a simple mistake into a ritual flogging—only bolsters the toxic notion that the press is forever viciously intruding on the secret, sacred work of perfect jurists.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
As if to remind me, the driver’s seat g-sensing dynamic side bolsters nudged me in the ribs at every turn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
We put Alphie in the pram and pile around him the pot, the pan, the kettle, the jamjars and mugs, the Pope, two bolsters and the coats from the beds.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Imports rose 2.8 percent to $399.3 billion, bolstered by computers, computer accessories and semiconductors.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
It gives City a net spend of £208m in 2026, which will be further bolstered by Tottenham's obligation to buy Omar Marmoush for £60m at the end of his loan spell next season.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
California and other states have bolstered their production incentive programs, but Schiff has said in the past that it is not enough.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
They’re blindly screaming their heads off, bolstered by the person who stopped molding herself in someone else’s image, who refused to cater to how the world or the industry thought she should appear.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
Alexander said warmly, while Beowulf nodded in agreement, and this bolstered her courage a great deal.
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
But another top priority would be bolstering the city’s cultural self-esteem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Trump’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal, which seeks $1.5 trillion in defense spending, also calls for bolstering American drone production.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Conservationists said bolstering smaller hedgehog populations, providing habitat to support more animals, and helping them move around to increase viability of populations without crossing more roads were important.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
A pivot to the kind of business bolstering Wall Street titans can help regional players weather rising yields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
A lack of introspection was good for bolstering your courage, but in the last months and weeks it had done damage to Milton.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
