buttress Definition

buttress
noun buttresses

1. archit.civil engineering.
A projecting support made of brick or masonry, etc built on to the outside of a wall. See also flying buttress.
Thesaurus: support, mainstay, abutment, pier, prop, stanchion, stay, strut.
2. Any support or prop.

verb buttresses, buttressed, buttressing

1. To support (a wall, etc) with buttresses.

Thesaurus: bolster, bracere, inforce, strengthen, shore up, support, sustain, uphold; Antonym: weaken, undermine.
2. To support or encourage (an argument, etc).

Etymology: 14c as butres: from French bouter to push.