Entry Word: support

Function: noun

Meaning: 1 something that holds up or serves as a foundation for something else <if you don't add a couple more supports to that tower of blocks, it's going to fall down>

Synonyms brace, bulwark, buttress, mount, mounting, shore, stay, underpinning

Related Words column, pedestal, pilaster, pillar; arch, bracket, cantilever; crutch, mainstay, peg, post, stake, stanchion, stand, stilt, truss; base, foundation, frame

2 an act or instance of helping <the teamʼs victory owes a lot to Joeʼs strong support in left field> — see help 1
3 something or someone to which one looks for support <Grandfather has long been the extended familyʼs emotional and financial support in times of trouble> — see dependence 2