prop up

phrasal verb

propped up; propping up; props up
1
: to stop (something) from falling or slipping by placing something under or against it
We propped up the beams with long boards.
propped the plant stems up
2
: to give help, encouragement, or support to (someone)
His faith propped him up in times of crisis.

Examples of prop up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Crime fears have helped Thao’s detractors undermine her leadership and prop up her opponents, feeding a fledgling recall effort and leading Gov. Gavin Newsom to intervene in Oakland’s affairs. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Related video Kremlin propaganda machine props up Putin’s image ahead of Russian elections Putin is 71 years old, a decade younger than US President Joe Biden. Nathan Hodge, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 Until drought in recent years forced the Lower Basin to cut back and prop up water levels in Lake Mead, the three-state region fully used its 7.5 million acre-foot allocation. Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024 Read Next National Whale seen propping up her calf possibly struck by ship near Hawaii. Don Sweeney, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2024 That same regime propped up Tesla during its developmental years. Steve Dasilva / Jalopnik, Quartz, 23 Feb. 2024 But the Kremlin’s propping up the ruble with capital controls, draining the national wealth fund to aid spending on the military and support measures for businesses, and has lost access to $300 billion in frozen foreign reserves abroad. Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 14 Feb. 2024 Pakistan has been relying on bailouts to prop up its foreign exchange reserves and avoid default, with the IMF and wealthy allies like China and Saudi Arabia financing the country to the tune of billions of dollars. Munir Ahmed, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2024 China stood out as a silver lining in the last quarter as the success of AB InBev’s premium drinks propped up earnings by 32%. Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prop up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near prop up

Cite this Entry

“Prop up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prop%20up. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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