 4 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
buttress
noun: a support usually of stone or brick; supports the wall of a
building [syn: {buttressing}]
verb
1: reinforce with a buttress; "Buttress the church"
2: make stronger or defensible; "buttress your thesis"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Buttress \But"tress\, noun [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.
Note: When an external projection is used merely to stiffen a
wall, it is a pier.
2. Anything which supports or strengthens. ''The ground
pillar and buttress of the good old cause of
nonconformity.'' --South.
{Flying buttress}. See {Flying buttress}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Buttress \But"tress\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Buttressed} (?); p.
pr. & vb. n. {Buttressing}.]
To support with a buttress; to prop; to brace firmly.
To set it upright again, and to prop and buttress it up
for duration. --Burke.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
144 Moby Thesaurus words for "buttress":
abutment, advocate, affirm, afford support, alpenstock,
arc-boutant, arm, athletic supporter, attest, authenticate, back,
back up, backbone, backing, bandeau, bank, beam, bear, bear out,
bear up, bearer, beef up, bolster, bolster up, bra, brace,
brace up, bracer, bracket, brassiere, breakwater, bulwark, buoy up,
buttress pier, buttressing, cane, carrier, carry, case harden,
certify, cervix, circumstantiate, column, confirm, corroborate,
corset, cradle, crook, crutch, cushion, document, embankment,
finance, flying buttress, fortify, foundation garment, fulcrum,
fund, gird, girdle, give support, groin, guy, guywire,
hanging buttress, harden, hold, hold up, invigorate, jetty, jock,
jockstrap, jutty, keep, keep afloat, keep up, lend support,
mainstay, maintain, maintainer, mast, mole, neck, nerve, pier,
pier buttress, pillow, probate, prop, prop up, prove, rampart,
ratify, refresh, reinforce, reinforcement, reinforcer,
reinvigorate, rest, resting place, restrengthen, retaining wall,
rigging, seawall, shore, shore up, shoulder, shroud, spine, sprit,
staff, standing rigging, stave, stay, steel, stick, stiffen,
stiffener, strengthen, strengthener, subsidize, substantiate,
subvention, subventionize, support, supporter, sustain, sustainer,
temper, toughen, underbrace, undergird, underlie, underpin,
underpinning, underset, upbear, uphold, upholder, upkeep, validate,
verify, walking stick, warrant
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