buttress
Americannoun
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buttresses
plural
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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:
Pant hooting and buttress drumming are both part of the male chimpanzee display, suggesting that accumulative stone throwing might represent a modification of this common behavior.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
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
How to buttress the yen is another matter.
From Barron's ● May 14, 2026
She would buttress her argument with recommendations from Dr. Cuevas, which later, when he was asked point-blank, turned out to have been made up.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
In the very short-term, Tyler thinks inflation and payrolls data due this week may reinforce sentiment, especially if a jobs number like August’s buttresses the growth story.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
The festival’s successful return to the Castro, with its prime location and renown, buttresses the organization’s future—welcome news in a world in need of just that.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 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
The lean was about 15 degrees and the building would have collapsed on its own, had it not been shored up with buttresses, the Lower Gornal local history group said.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2024
Out from their feet were flung huge buttresses and broken hills that were now at the nearest scarce a dozen miles away.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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
As investors enter the home stretch of 2025, the mindset is still skewed toward risk-on, buttressed by three unofficial “puts” that they believe establish a floor for risk-asset prices.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2025
My faith was buttressed by a book by Jacques Maritain rather than by the experience of worship at a Lenten service with classmates or serving at some old lady’s funeral.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
The memorial also extols the soldiers killed in the conflict—a move analysts say is aimed at buttressing popular support for the deployment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
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
Xi said China was open to buttressing cooperation within the U.N. and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation framework and safeguard the interests of developing countries.
From Reuters ● Oct. 20, 2023
“We will carry on buttressing our economy and expanding its dynamic course.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2023
Rank and position and high office if worthily filled need no buttressing up.
From Russian Life To-day by Right Rev. Herbert Bury
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.
