bolster
English · Thesaurus
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bolster¹
- /ˈbɒlstə/ UK
- /ˈbəʊlstə/ UK
- [ˈbɒʊlstə] UK
- /ˈboʊlstɚ/ US
Where it comes from
From Middle English bolster, bolstre, from Old English bolster (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *bolstr, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz (“pillow, cushion”). Cognate with Scots bowster (“bolster”), West Frisian bulster (“mattress”), Dutch bolster (“husk, shell”), German Polster (“bolster, pillow, pad”), Swedish bolster (“soft mattress, bolster”), Icelandic bólstur (“pillow”).
noun bolsters · boulster · bowster · bouster · boster
-
A large cushion or pillow, usually cylindrical in shape.
And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster, / This way the coverlet, another way the sheets.
Similar: Dutch wife, hotdog pillow
- A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support part of the body, or make a bandage sit easy upon a wounded part; a compress. This Arm ſhall be a Bolſter for thy Head, / I'll fetch clean Straw to make my Soldier's Bed; / There, while thou ſleep'ſt, my Apron o'er thee hold, / Or with it patch thy Tent againſt the Cold.
- A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons that gives the front wheels enough clearance to turn.
- A short, horizontal structural timber between a post and a beam for enlarging the bearing area of the post and/or reducing the span of the beam.
- A beam in the middle of a railway truck, supporting the body of the car.
- The perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched.
- The part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle.
- The metallic end of a pocketknife handle.
- The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital. Its [the Ionic's column's] ancient capital is generally formed of two parallel bolsters
- A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation.
- That which supports or promotes; a catalyst. My health too has been better since you took away that Montero cap. I have left off cayenned eggs and such bolsters to discomfort.
- A wide-bladed cold chisel designed to split and shape bricks.
verb bolsters · bolstering · bolstered · boulster · bowster
- To brace, reinforce, secure, or support. Puget also teamed up with Matt Hyde (Deftones, Slayer) to co-produce the record, which was another smart move: Together, the pair ensures that AFI (The Blood Album)'s arrangements are streamlined, but bolstered by just the right amount of atmospheric texture.
Bolster²
Where it comes from
Variant of German Polster.
proper noun Bolsters
- A surname from German.
- A ghost town in Okanogan County, Washington, United States.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: pad, support, bolster up, long pillow, upholstery, bed, spur, underpin, buttress, entrench, fortify, building, jump-start, nurture, boost, galvanize
Translations
Every language
noun large cushion or pillow
| Español | cabecera, almohada, almohadón |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 靠枕 kàozhěn, 墊枕 /垫枕 |
| Português | cabeceira, travesseiro |
| Français | traversin |
| Deutsch | Polster, Nackenrolle |
| Italiano | capezzale |
| Ελληνικά | μαξιλάρα maxilára |
| Русский | поду́шка podúška, ва́лик válik |
noun short, horizontal, structural timber between a post and a beam
| Español | zapata |
|---|
noun perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched
| Español | matriz |
|---|
noun (architecture) the rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital
| Español | volutas |
|---|
verb to brace, reinforce, secure, or support
| 日本語 | 抱き枕 |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 加强 jiāqiáng, 支持 zhīchí, 巩固 gǒnggù |
| Português | apoiar |
| Français | soutenir, renforcer, appuyer |
| Deutsch | polstern, unterstützen, verstärken, bestärken |
| Italiano | accrescere, rafforzare, consolidare |
| Ελληνικά | στυλώνω stylóno, υποστηρίζω ypostirízo |
| Русский | подпира́ть podpirátʹ, подде́рживать poddérživatʹ, крепи́ть krepítʹ |
Talk about this word "bolster." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bolster. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bolster. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bolster "bolster." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bolster.Cite this
@misc{bolster_2026,
title = {bolster},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bolster},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
