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Recent Examples of flying buttress
An aerodynamic channel in the rear pillar creates a flying buttress, while the roof is painted black.
—
Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 11 Nov. 2021
Details – rose windows, gargoyles, flying buttresses – came gradually.
—Mike Hughes, Cincinnati.com, 26 Apr. 2020
The vault is punctured by three gaping holes, and the flying buttresses are propped up by giant wooden blocks.
—Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2020
And the damage threatened the delicate balance of forces between the vault and the cathedral’s flying buttresses: The entire building teetered on possible collapse.
—Christa Lesté-Lasserre, Science | AAAS, 12 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for flying buttress
Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 11 Nov. 2021
Details – rose windows, gargoyles, flying buttresses – came gradually.
—Mike Hughes, Cincinnati.com, 26 Apr. 2020
The vault is punctured by three gaping holes, and the flying buttresses are propped up by giant wooden blocks.
—Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2020
And the damage threatened the delicate balance of forces between the vault and the cathedral’s flying buttresses: The entire building teetered on possible collapse.
—Christa Lesté-Lasserre, Science | AAAS, 12 Mar. 2020
See All Example Sentences for flying buttress
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flying buttress
Noun
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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
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Together, the data points buttress worries from some Federal Reserve policymakers that the coast is far from clear for the labor market and may require more policy support — in the form of interest rate reductions — if the current state of play persists.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
His 8-foot statue rises from a 10-foot pedestal — harder to reach than the practically ground-level Otis trio.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
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The fact that he is seated on a pedestal that is nearly one-third the total height, with only his right foot reaching toward the ground, raises a question about whether the statue can be considered fully freestanding.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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What's different – beyond the material in question – is the use of a triangular needle tip that avoids cutting through the wood fibers when threading through them, and nylon yarn that's strong yet flexible.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
30 Mar. 2026
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Very little moves the needle between the flurry of free agent signings, trades and the draft, but this story deserves your attention.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flying buttress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flying%20buttress. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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