buttress

buttress

noun

Definition of BUTTRESS

1

something or someone to which one looks for support <the mother had always been the buttress of our family in trying times>

Synonyms anchor, buttress, mainstay, pillar, reliance, standby

Related Words backbone, sinew(s), spine; right hand; bolsterer, crutch, handmaiden (also handmaid), prop, stay; anchorage, harbor, refuge

2

a structure that holds up or serves as a foundation for something else <after the wall collapsed, the construction company agreed to rebuild it with a buttress>

Synonyms brace, buttress, mount, mounting, prop, reinforcement, shore, spur, stay, underpinning

Related Words shoring; column, pedestal, pilaster, pillar; arch, bolster, bracket, cantilever, girder; bearing; crutch, peg, post, stake, stanchion, stand, stilt, strut, truss; base, foundation, frame