definitions

shore

2
[ shawr, shohr ]
/ ʃɔr, ʃoʊr /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shore ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a supporting post or beam with auxiliary members, especially one placed obliquely against the side of a building, a ship in drydock, or the like; prop; strut.

verb (used with object), shored, shor·ing.

to support by or as if by a shore or shores; prop (usually followed by up): to shore up a roof; government subsidies to shore up falling corn prices.

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RELATED WORDS

bolster, stress, buttress, support, enlarge, increase, fortify, emphasize, boost, underline, reinforce, hold, uphold, preserve, help, defend, assist, continue, nurse, save

Nearby words

shoptalk, shopwalker, shopwindow, shopworn, shoran, shore, shore bird, shore bug, shore crab, shore dinner, shore fly

Origin of shore

2
1300–50; (noun) Middle English; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schore prop; (v.) shoren, derivative of the noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for shore up (1 of 3)

shore

1
/ (ʃɔː) /

noun

the land along the edge of a sea, lake, or wide riverRelated adjective: littoral
  1. land, as opposed to water (esp in the phrase on shore)
  2. (as modifier)shore duty
law the tract of coastland lying between the ordinary marks of high and low water
(often plural) a countryhis native shores

verb

(tr) to move or drag (a boat) onto a shore

Word Origin for shore

C14: probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schōre; compare Old High German scorra cliff; see shear

British Dictionary definitions for shore up (2 of 3)

shore

2
/ (ʃɔː) /

noun

a prop, post, or beam used to support a wall, building, ship in dry dock, etc

verb

(tr often foll by up) to prop or make safe with or as if with a shore

Derived Forms

shoring, noun

Word Origin for shore

C15: from Middle Dutch schōre; related to Old Norse skortha prop

British Dictionary definitions for shore up (3 of 3)

shore

3
/ (ʃɔː) /

verb

Australian and NZ a past tense of shear
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

Idioms and Phrases with shore up

shore up

Support, prop, as in The new law was designed to shore up banks in danger of failure. This expression derives from the noun shore, meaning “prop,” a beam or timber propped against a structure to provide support. The verb shore dates from 1340 and was first recorded in a figurative context in 1581.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.