bolster

noun

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bol·ster | \ ˈbōl-stər

Definition of bolster

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a long pillow or cushion

2 : a structural part designed to eliminate friction or provide support or bearing (see bearing sense 5)

bolster

verb

bolstered; bolstering\ ˈbōl-st(ə-)riŋ

Definition of bolster (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to support with or as if with a bolster : reinforce lay bolstered up in bed extra men will bolster already augmented dock details— Stanley Levey

2 : to give a boost to news that bolstered his spirits

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Examples of bolster in a Sentence

Verb She came with me to bolster my confidence. a convincing argument that was bolstered by the speaker's reputation She is thinking of ways to bolster her career.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The space between the bottom of the bolster and the bottom heel of the blade should allow enough room for your knuckles. — Marni Jameson, orlandosentinel.com, "The cutting edge ― Part 2: What’s the best kitchen knife?," 18 Dec. 2020 The design of the wide, tapered bolster made this knife easy to grip and seriously comfortable to use. — Valerie Li Stack, USA TODAY, "Black Friday 2020: Get Zwiling Pro 8-inch Chef's Knife for $40 off," 27 Nov. 2020 Wikipedia is the most massive centralized collection of knowledge in human history, a bolster against misinformation, and a free-floating library, run by an army of unseen volunteers. — Jenny Singer, Glamour, "The Women of Wikipedia Are Writing Themselves Into History," 26 Jan. 2021 Many assert that the measure could at the least bolster existing efforts. — IndyStar, "There is a lot of money on the table with carbon markets. But farmers are skeptical.," 18 Jan. 2021 The space between the bottom of the bolster and the bottom heel of the blade should allow enough room for your knuckles. — Marni Jameson, orlandosentinel.com, "The cutting edge ― Part 2: What’s the best kitchen knife?," 18 Dec. 2020 The space between the bottom of the bolster and the bottom heel of the blade should allow enough room for your knuckles. — Marni Jameson, orlandosentinel.com, "The cutting edge ― Part 2: What’s the best kitchen knife?," 18 Dec. 2020 Place a bolster or pillows underneath your knees, and a pillow underneath your head. — Stephanie Mansour, CNN, "Should you skip or keep your workout if you're sick? Here's how to tell," 25 Dec. 2020 The space between the bottom of the bolster and the bottom heel of the blade should allow enough room for your knuckles. — Marni Jameson, orlandosentinel.com, "The cutting edge ― Part 2: What’s the best kitchen knife?," 18 Dec. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Republicans rallied solidly against Democrats' proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill as lawmakers awaited a decision by the Senate's parliamentarian that could bolster or potentially kill a pivotal provision hiking the federal minimum wage. — Alan Fram, Star Tribune, "GOP rallies solidly against Democrats' virus relief package," 25 Feb. 2021 Last quarter, stores helped fill 25% of Macy's online orders either by having shopping come to retrieve them or using store inventory to fill them, two things that bolster profits. — Phil Wahba, Fortune, "How Macy’s plans to hit its $10 billion e-commerce goal," 23 Feb. 2021 Amid the chaos, though, many see an opportunity to reshape seafood sales in ways that bolster adoption of more sustainable methods and create a more equitable future for fishermen like those in Coronado’s co-op. — Popular Science, "Post-pandemic seafood could be more sustainable. Here’s how tech is driving the change.," 23 Feb. 2021 So confirmation of the new results could bolster efforts to make saliva tests more readily available, says Sri Kosuri, CEO of Octant, Inc., a biotech company. — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, "Saliva could hold clues to how sick you will get from COVID-19," 13 Jan. 2021 More federal money that could bolster local efforts to reduce flood and storm risks to Louisianans will soon be available in the form of a new loan program. — Halle Parker | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, "New federal loan program could get more flood risk projects off the ground in Louisiana," 8 Jan. 2021 Many fear that Bolsonaro’s scorn could bolster the anti-vaccine movement in Brazil and elsewhere. — Patrick J. Mcdonnell, Los Angeles Times, "As vaccine rollout nears, many concerns raised in Latin America, hard hit by COVID-19," 20 Dec. 2020 The secondary is a spot where the Ducks could bolster. — James Crepea | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, "Where Oregon Ducks could add to 2021 recruiting class," 17 Dec. 2020 How about professional sports teams, whose performances could bolster society's overall morale? — NBC News, "Demand for Covid vaccines expected to get heated — and fast," 7 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bolster.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.