shore up

phrasal verb

shored up; shoring up; shores up

1

: to support (something) or keep (something) from falling by placing something under or against it

They shored up the roof/wall.

2

: to support or help (something)

The tax cuts are supposed to shore up the economy.

Examples of shore up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Given that millions of seniors rely on Social Security for more than half of their annual income, shoring up the program to avoid insolvency is a pressing issue, the report said. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026

This way Les Snead can breathe a sigh of relief and then get to work on shoring up the secondary. —Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 6 Feb. 2026

The Federal Reserve, in an attempt to shore up a softening labor market, trimmed its benchmark lending rate by a quarter-point three straight times at the end of last year. —Matt Ott, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026

California Republicans argued that Democrats were not just trying to offset Texas’ map but also hoping to shore up Latino support for the party. —Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for shore up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup