buttress

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: buttressing

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

  1. a support usually of stone or brick; supports the wall of a buildingSynonyms: buttressing

Verb (2)

  1. reinforce with a buttress“Buttress the church”
  2. make stronger or defensible“buttress your thesis”
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Buttress \But"tress\, n. [OE. butrasse, boterace, fr. F. bouter to push; cf. OF. bouteret (nom. sing. and acc. pl. bouterez) buttress. See Butt an end, and cf. Butteris.]

1.(Arch.) A projecting mass of masonry, used for resisting the thrust of an arch, or for ornament and symmetry. [1913 Webster]

Note: When an external projection is used merely to stiffen a wall, it is a pier. [1913 Webster]

2.Anything which supports or strengthens. "The ground pillar and buttress of the good old cause of nonconformity." --South. [1913 Webster]

Flying buttress. See Flying buttress. [1913 Webster]

Buttress \But"tress\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Buttressed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Buttressing.] To support with a buttress; to prop; to brace firmly. [1913 Webster]

To set it upright again, and to prop and buttress it up for duration. --Burke. [1913 Webster]

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