[syn: prop up, prop, shore up, shore]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Prop \Prop\, n. [Akin to LG., D., & Dan. prop stopple, stopper,
cork, Sw. propp, G. pfropf. See Prop, v.]
That which sustains an incumbent weight; that on which
anything rests or leans for support; a support; a stay; as, a
prop for a building. "Two props of virtue." --Shak.
[1913 Webster] Propaedeutic
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Prop \Prop\, n.
A shell, used as a die. See Props.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Prop \Prop\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Propped; p. pr. & vb. n.
Propping.] [Akin to LG. & D. proppen to cram, stuff, thrust
into, stop, G. pfropfen, Dan. proppe, Sw. proppa; of
uncertain origin, cf. G. pfropfen to graft, fr. L. propago
set, layer of a plant, slip, shoot. Cf. 3d. Prop,
Propagate.]
To support, or prevent from falling, by placing something
under or against; as, to prop up a fence or an old building;
(Fig.) to sustain; to maintain; as, to prop a declining
state. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Till the bright mountains prop the incumbent sky.
--Pope.
[1913 Webster]
For being not propp'd by ancestry. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
I prop myself upon those few supports that are left me.
--Pope.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
prop
n 1: a support placed beneath or against something to keep it
from shaking or falling
2: any movable articles or objects used on the set of a play or
movie; "before every scene he ran down his checklist of
props" [syn: property, prop]
3: a propeller that rotates to push against air [syn: airplane
propeller, airscrew, prop]
v 1: support by placing against something solid or rigid; "shore
and buttress an old building" [syn: prop up, prop,
shore up, shore]