buttress

[buh-tris]

noun

1. any external prop or support built to steady a structure by opposing its outward thrusts, especially a projecting support built into or against the outside of a masonry wall.

2. any prop or support.

3. a thing shaped like a buttress, as a tree trunk with a widening base.

4. a bony or horny protuberance, especially on a horse's hoof.

verb (used with object)

1. to support by a buttress; prop up.

2. to give encouragement or support to (a person, plan, etc.).

   Synonyms: reinforce, brace, inspirit, support, hearten, encourage

buttress

/ ˈbʌtrɪs /

noun

1. Also called: pier. a construction, usually of brick or stone, built to support a wall See also flying buttress

2. any support or prop

3. something shaped like a buttress, such as a projection from a mountainside

4. either of the two pointed rear parts of a horse's hoof

verb

1. to support (a wall) with a buttress

2. to support or sustain

Other Word Forms

• buttressless adjective
• buttresslike adjective
• nonbuttressed adjective
• unbuttressed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of buttress¹

1350–1400; Middle English butres ≪ Old French ( arc ) boterez thrusting (arch) nominative singular of boteret (accusative), equivalent to boter- abutment (perhaps < Germanic; butt ³ ) + -et -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of buttress¹

C13: from Old French bouterez , short for ars bouterez thrusting arch, from bouter to thrust, _butt ³

Example Sentences

There’s nothing like a Fed put to buttress markets, even if doubts exist this whole artificial-intelligence thing is going to work out swimmingly.

Read more on MarketWatch

Monday's collapses affected a buttress and part of the tower's base, then part of the stairwell and the roof, Rome's Directorate of Cultural Heritage said in a statement.

Read more on Barron's

Four massive concrete slabs jut into the room at second-story level, a move that is meant to celebrate structure—the museum’s director calls them “internal flying buttresses.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In a bland footnote, Waller cited the ADP data to buttress his concern that the labor market was slowing.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The manuscript reveals a gothic, green castle, with decadent arches, spires and buttresses — the very castle on the stage.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• reinforce 
• strengthen 
• uphold