bolster

[bohl-ster]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bolster ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a long, often cylindrical, cushion or pillow for a bed, sofa, etc.

anything resembling this in form or in use as a support.

any pillow, cushion, or pad.

Nautical.

Also called bolster plate.a circular casting on the side of a vessel, through which an anchor chain passes.
a timber used as a temporary support.
a beam for holding lines or rigging without chafing.
a bag filled with buoyant material, fitted into a small boat.

Metalworking. an anvillike support for the lower die of a drop forge.

Masonry.

a timber or the like connecting two ribs of a centering.
a chisel with a blade splayed toward the edge, used for cutting bricks.

Carpentry. a horizontal timber on a post for lessening the free span of a beam.

a structural member on which one end of a bridge truss rests.

verb (used with object)

to support with or as with a pillow or cushion.

to add to, support, or uphold (sometimes followed by up): They bolstered their morale by singing. He bolstered up his claim with new evidence.

Origin of bolster

before 1000; Middle English bolstre (noun), Old English bolster; cognate with Old Norse bolstr, Dutch bolster, German Polster

Related formsbol·ster·er, nounun·bol·ster, verb (used with object)un·bol·stered, adjective

Synonyms for bolster

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bolster ON THESAURUS.COM

10. strengthen, sustain, aid, reinforce, fortify.

Synonym study

1. See cushion.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bolster

help, buttress, strengthen, support, cushion, reinforce, maintain, sustain, aid, boost, buoy, uphold, bulwark, assist, stay, carry, prop, brace, pillow

Examples from the Web for bolster

Contemporary Examples of bolster

To bolster my case I told him we should actually call it Pursuito, like Vertigo or Psycho.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
Low-income work was a necessity, either to make up for the absence of a man or to bolster his own low-income paycheck.
'Ghostbusters' and the Slow Emancipation of Female-Driven Comedy
Teo Bugbee
August 15, 2014
Critics also argue the military assistance may be coming too late to bolster mainstream rebels.
U.S. on Alert for Al Qaeda Attack as Group Battles ISIS for Top Terrorist
Jamie Dettmer
July 1, 2014
“This reduces a potential drag to the economy and will bolster growth for the remainder of 2014,” Handler notes.
The U.S. Economy Had a Hiccup, Not a Heart Attack, This Year
Daniel Gross
May 29, 2014
Having a major movie backing up the program can only bolster its relationship with MLB.
The Aftermath of Disney’s ‘Million Dollar Arm’
Alex Suskind
May 16, 2014

Historical Examples of bolster

But I will not attempt to bolster my position with authorities.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930
Various
Spread it with the jam, and roll up in the form of a bolster.
The Skilful Cook
Mary Harrison
Presently, however, she came back with a dry pillow and bolster for him.
Rollo on the Atlantic
Jacob Abbott
Some days Sanjib Babu would be there reclining on his bolster.
My Reminiscences
Rabindranath Tagore
The answer was perfectly clear, but there were even more facts to bolster it.
Pagan Passions
Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for bolster

bolster

verb (tr)

(often foll by up) to support or reinforce; strengthento bolster morale

to prop up with a pillow or cushion

to add padding toto bolster a dress

noun

a long narrow pillow or cushion

any pad or padded support

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

a cold chisel having a broad blade splayed towards the cutting edge, used for cutting stone slabs, etc

Derived Formsbolsterer, nounbolstering, noun, adjective

Word Origin for bolster

Old English bolster; related to Old Norse bolstr, Old High German bolstar, Dutch bulster

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bolster

Old English bolster "bolster, cushion, something stuffed so that it swells up," especially "long, stuffed pillow," from Proto-Germanic *bolkhstraz (cf. Old Norse bolstr, Danish, Swedish, Dutch bolster, German polster), from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell" (see belly (n.)).

mid-15c. (implied in bolstered), "propped up, made to bulge" (originally of a woman's breasts), from bolster (n.). Figurative sense is from c.1500, on the notion of "to support with a bolster, prop up." Related: Bolstering.