buttress
Americannoun
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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.
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any prop or support.
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a thing shaped like a buttress, as a tree trunk with a widening base.
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a bony or horny protuberance, especially on a horse's hoof.
noun
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Also called: pier. a construction, usually of brick or stone, built to support a wall See also flying buttress
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any support or prop
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something shaped like a buttress, such as a projection from a mountainside
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either of the two pointed rear parts of a horse's hoof
verb
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to support (a wall) with a buttress
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to support or sustain
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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buttresssimple
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buttressessimple
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have buttressedperfect
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has buttressedperfect
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am buttressingprogressive
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are buttressingprogressive
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is buttressingprogressive
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have been buttressingperfect progressive
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has been buttressingperfect progressive
Past
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buttressedsimple
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had buttressedperfect
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was buttressingprogressive
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were buttressingprogressive
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had been buttressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of buttress
1350–1400; Middle English butres ≪ Old French ( arc ) boterez thrusting (arch) nominative singular of boteret (accusative), equivalent to boter- abutment (perhaps < Germanic; see butt 3) + -et -et
Explanation
You can buttress an argument with solid facts or your financial portfolio with safe investments. You may find that giving compliments to everyone you meet buttresses your popularity. To buttress is to sustain or reinforce. A buttress is a structure that adds stability to a wall or building, and this innovation played a significant role in the evolution of architecture. Think of a medieval cathedral. It's an incredibly tall, open building filled with light from vast windows. Without buttresses supporting the walls and carrying the weight of the ceiling away from the building and down to the ground, this cathedral would be impossible. Picture this when you use buttress figuratively as a verb meaning to strengthen and support.
Vocabulary lists containing buttress
The Tragedy of Macbeth
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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Built To Last: Architectural Parlance
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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:
It’s just the latest sign that the launch of a whole ecosystem of ETFs has done little to buttress bitcoin against the whims of mercurial investors.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Millions will be spent to regild the hulking Art Deco statues that buttress Arlington Memorial Bridge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Its technologies not only pervade the modern world; they buttress the global economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
Overseas Nepali workers bankroll their families and buttress the economy, making them a key constituency in elections next week -- but they cannot vote themselves.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
Then they were hoisted into place and fastened to the pier at one end and to the buttress at the other.
From "Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction" by David Macaulay
Jaguar’s chief aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer called the buttresses “sail panels.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
The manuscript reveals a gothic, green castle, with decadent arches, spires and buttresses — the very castle on the stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025
At the last minute though, those faithful buttresses on the south side were further strengthened.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2024
That buttresses what Cohen will say: There’s no way that Trump signed a series of $35,000 checks to Cohen without knowing and intending them to be reimbursement for Cohen’s payment to Daniels.
From Slate ● May 8, 2024
On the scaffolding wooden centerings like those used for the flying buttresses were installed.
From "Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction" by David Macaulay
The alternative argument about the AI build-out is buttressed by the fact that capital expenditure isn’t immediately reflected in profit and losses.
From MarketWatch ● May 29, 2026
Its supply is believed to have been buttressed over the last year by advanced Akinci combat models.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Strong performances from major franchises including an "Avatar" tie-in game and juggernaut "Assassin's Creed" buttressed struggling French games giant Ubisoft's third-quarter results, the company said Thursday.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
Nor did the regime implement any major domestic political and economic reforms that could have buttressed its popular support.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026
Instead, I propped my elbow on the reading table and buttressed my fingertips against my forehead to obscure my face.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Its form is that of the catenary curve, the most perfect shape for an arch, and the only one that requires no buttressing from the side.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Without an endowment, there’s no steady stream of cash buttressing the ups and downs.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2024
Disney shares have gained more than 30% this year, buttressing the company’s argument that Iger is getting things on the right track.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2024
This is moral vanity, Edelman admits: a professional charmer’s eagerness to flatter other people’s self-regard as a way of buttressing his own.
From New York Times ● Jun. 26, 2023
The most important function of the defensive is that of covering, buttressing, and intensifying the main attack.
From Some Principles of Maritime Strategy by Corbett, Julian S. (Julian Stafford)
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.
