Etymology
Origin of stiffener
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.
When you screw one side of the angle to the bottom of the seat, the other side of the angle acts as a stiffener.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 14, 2018
Soviet troops were just supposed to provide the initial stiffener.
From Time Magazine Archive
Sea breezes used to ruffle the models' clothes until someone devised a stiffener to make them lie flat.
From Time Magazine Archive
An infusion of feasibility—or what he looked upon as such—into the sentimentality of such a man as Walter Lodloe generally acts as a stiffener to his purposes.
From The Squirrel Inn by Frank Richard Stockton
An enormous black handkerchief, which was twisted into a very high stiffener for his cravat, and the bristles of which supported his chin, stuck out an inch over his collar.
From A Hero of Our Time by J. H. Wisdom
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
