bolster
Americannoun
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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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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
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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:
Through the restructuring, BuzzFeed’s leaders said, the company will aim to grow its audience and bolster its positon in free streaming content.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
To bolster these efforts, many regionals are also shifting their lending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Specialist officers have been drafted in from other units to bolster the anti-corruption unit, including from the major incident team, and the inquiry is expected to take many months.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Additionally, the prospect of repatriated capital could bolster the yen, which has seen USD/JPY rise above 163, an exchange rate not seen since 1986.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
The pale yellow bolster pillow is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, packaged on the ends like a big yellow hotdog.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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
Though Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the number one in cross-border wealth management, rather than enter panic mode, Swiss banks seem unruffled -- feeling it bolsters the case against looming tighter banking regulations.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Washington state has embarked on a bold experiment that bolsters families by giving all workers a way to earn access to $36,500 worth of long-term care when they need it.
From MarketWatch ● May 13, 2026
He had broken his back, someone said, but there was nothing anyone could do, and now men were stepping over him with their blankets and bolsters, and others were jostling to go up.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Diaz, who works for the Army & Air Force Exchange Service in El Paso, Texas, builds apps in his spare time—and loves how Codex and ChatGPT have bolstered his coding ability.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
She was also bolstered to see women continuing to compete even as their families grow.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
But perhaps CXMT, bolstered by the deep pockets of Hefei’s municipal-investment arm, would be able to accomplish what GigaDevice couldn’t.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
Hollywood industry representatives had warned the governor’s office that the new restrictions could affect the state’s production incentive program, which was just bolstered last year to an annual cap of $750 million.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
The idea of sleeping in the near open bolstered my sense of freedom.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Revenue for the four-year World Cup cycle is anticipated to reach $13 billion, making it the first $10-billion sporting event in history — bolstering Infantino’s case for reelection as FIFA’s president next year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Additionally, he said that the federal government’s focus on bolstering its cybersecurity posture should benefit the company.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
The plan has been executed well, with the Dodgers winning the World Series in two of Ohtani’s first three seasons while constantly bolstering the roster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Zolghadr's career has been embedded in the Guards and his appointment was seen as further bolstering the role of the ideological army.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
The two theories had to be congenitally linked—each bolstering and completing the other.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
