buttress
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buttress
- /ˈbʌtɹəs/ UK
- /ˈbʌtɹɪs/ US
Where it comes from
From Old French ars bouterez (noun, literally “supporting arcs”), from bouterez (adjective), oblique plural of bouteret (rare in the singular), from Frankish *bôtan, from Proto-Germanic *bautaną (“to push”). Ultimately cognate with beat.
noun buttresses · buttrice
-
A brick, concrete or stone structure built against another structure to support it.
It was decided, therefore, to build eight concrete buttresses from the new strengthening work to safeguard the general stability of the wall along the length where the greatest movement had taken place.
Similar: counterfort, brace
- Anything that serves to support something; a prop.
- A buttress root.
- A feature jutting prominently out from a mountain or rock. Crowell Buttresses, Dismal Buttress
- Anything that supports or strengthens. the grand pillar and buttress of the good old cause of nonconformity
verb buttresses · buttressing · buttressed · buttrice
- To support something physically with, or as if with, a prop or buttress.
-
To support something or someone by supplying evidence.
Buttressed by elaborate account statements and a deep reservoir of trust from his investors and regulators, Mr. Madoff steered his fraud scheme safely through a severe recession in the early 1990s, a global financial crisis in 1998 and the anxious aftermath of the terrorist attacks in September 2001
Similar: corroborate, substantiate
Translations
Every language
noun brick or stone structure built against another structure to support it
| Español | boterete, contrafuerte, estantal, machón, estribo |
|---|---|
| Português | botaréu, contraforte |
| Français | arc-boutant, contrefort |
| Deutsch | Stützpfeiler, Strebepfeiler, Gewölbepfeiler, Pfeiler, Gegenlager, Strebewerk |
| Italiano | contrafforte, contrafforti, sperone |
| Ελληνικά | αντηρίδα antirída |
| Română | contrafort |
| Русский | контрфорс kontrfors |
noun anything that serves to support something
| Español | sostén, apoyo, refuerzo |
|---|---|
| Português | contraforte, apoio, proteção, anteparo, reforço |
| Français | appui, corroboration |
| Deutsch | Stütze, Strebe, Aussteifung, Abstützung, Stempel |
| Italiano | supporto, corroborazione, sperone |
| Русский | подпорка podporka, опо́ра opóra |
noun feature jutting out from mountain; crag, bluff
| Español | contrafuerte, estribo |
|---|---|
| Português | contraforte |
| Deutsch | Vorsprung, Vorbau, Klippe, Felsspitze, Felsenspitze, Felsvorsprung |
| Italiano | sperone |
verb support something physically with, or as if with, a buttress
| Español | apuntalar |
|---|---|
| Français | arc-bouter |
| Deutsch | stützen, verstärken |
verb support something or someone by supplying evidence
| Español | afianzar |
|---|---|
| Français | corroborer |
| Deutsch | stützen, untermauern |
| Italiano | appoggiare, sostenere, rafforzare, corroborare |
Talk about this word "buttress." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/buttress. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. buttress. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/buttress "buttress." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/buttress.Cite this
@misc{buttress_2026,
title = {buttress},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/buttress},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
