buttresses 1 of 2

noun

plural of buttress
1
as in anchors
something or someone to which one looks for support the mother had always been the buttress of our family in trying times

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2
as in pillars
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

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buttresses

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of buttress
1
as in supports
to hold up or serve as a foundation for a brace buttressed the wall

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2
as in reinforces
to provide evidence or information for (as a claim or idea) a mass of circumstantial evidence buttresses the prosecutor's case

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of buttresses
Noun
With their swollen, flaring buttresses and soaring heights of 80 feet or more, the trees are awe-inspiring when reflected in the dark water. — Charles Seabrook, AJC.com, 25 July 2026 Researchers have been concerned that without their icy buttresses, these walls could collapse. — Megan I. Gannon, Scientific American, 6 May 2026 Three setbacks provide space for landscaped terraces, and at these floors, the structural columns slope inward, becoming tall buttresses that reintegrate into the latticework. — Adam Williams april 21, New Atlas, 21 Apr. 2026 Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality. — Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
Verb
The document filed by the Justice Department in the Los Angeles Superior Court case led by plaintiffs Todd and Kimberley Ferrier — whose Pacific Palisades home burned down — buttresses arguments made by the victims’ attorneys. — Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026 That very insight further buttresses the need for a grand strategy. — James B. Steinberg, Foreign Affairs, 9 June 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buttresses
  1. anchors
  2. pillars
  3. supports
  4. reinforces
  5. backbones
  6. shores
  7. sustains
  8. bolsters
Noun
  • Just as a morning show producer may prep the anchors to discuss what’s trending that day, brand studios want to be able to jump on those trends, too.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Sunspot regions act like magnetic anchors, creating structures that can appear as spikes or streamers extending in different directions.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of anchors
Noun
  • Webb later revisited the region in infrared, seeing through more of the dust and revealing stars hidden inside and behind the pillars.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 Aug. 2026
  • There’s a symmetry despite all four stands having a different design, ranging from the concrete pillars of the Bramall Lane end to the much smoother lines seen along the John Street Stand.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of pillars
Verb
  • Because growing the rice itself is not profitable, even with historic high prices for Japanese rice, the company supports the agricultural costs through side ventures including a restaurant and an ice cream brand launched this summer.
    — Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Check the actual cost, state your terms plainly, and choose the option that supports both confidence and stability today without undercutting yourself.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of supports
Verb
  • The sleek nearby kitchen has a long, sinuous island and a casual dining spot, and the secondary kitchen reinforces the house’s ability to support hospitality on a grand scale while remaining a comfortable place to live.
    — Mark David, Robb Report, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Furthermore, the discovery reinforces Rio Grande do Sul’s status as one of the world’s most important regions for the study of Triassic fauna.
    — The Conversation, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of reinforces
Noun
  • More specifically, insects are invertebrates (animals without backbones) and are part of the arthropod phylum, which also includes spiders, crabs, and centipedes.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Look under rocks for macroinvertebrates (animals without backbones, like stoneflies).
    — Carl R. Gold, Baltimore Sun, 18 June 2026
Definition of backbones
Noun
  • Park in the right spot and the approach is transformed into a pleasant stroll around the shores of the lake that gives the aforementioned shopping centre its name.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The story goes that cheaper flights and package holidays from the nineteen-sixties onward sent most Brits to sunnier shores abroad.
    — George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of shores
Verb
  • Lê is interested in all the activity that fills a day, in its movement and sound, and attentive to the busy ecosystem that surrounds and sustains his principal characters.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 10 Aug. 2026
  • However, stocks of major infrastructure players, including Hewlett Packard, likely have more room to run as a boom in artificial intelligence data centers sustains a longer, but still cyclical, infrastructure upcycle, according to Morgan Stanley.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of sustains
Verb
  • Senior forward Madelyn Gora, who scored 10 goals, leads an offense that returns nearly all of its production, and senior Sloane Zygmunt bolsters the defense.
    — Noah Poser, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Marketing material for the serum asserts that mineral-rich comfrey bolsters bones, tendons and ligaments and noni stimulates circulation and supports detoxification.
    — Ben Davidson, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of bolsters

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Cite this Entry

“Buttresses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buttresses. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of buttresses for Spanish Speakers

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