shore up

phrasal verb

shored up; shoring up; shores up

: to support (something) or keep (something) from falling by placing something under or against it

They shored up the roof/wall.

: to support or help (something)

The tax cuts are supposed to shore up the economy.

Examples of shore up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The move comes after Biden last month proposed new 25% tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, part of a series of steps to shore up the American steel sector and woo its workers in an election year. —

Josh Wingrove, Fortune Asia, 10 May 2024 Dunn’s running on a platform to shore up women’s reproductive rights and voting rights, expand affordable health care, and ban AR-15 rifles. —

Brian Bennett, TIME, 10 May 2024 Fortune Tesla sends its ‘fireman’ to China Elon Musk is sending Tom Zhu, the former head of its China operations, back to the country to shore up the EV maker’s flagging business. —

Peter Vanham, Fortune, 8 May 2024 The issues fueled billions of euros in losses last fiscal year and culminated in a €15 billion deal with the German government to shore up its finances, including asset sales. —

Wilfried Eckl-Dorna, Fortune Europe, 8 May 2024 Nevertheless, there have been recent polls that suggest Biden needs to shore up support among young voters, and the current protests will make doing that even more challenging. —

Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 May 2024 The Miami Hurricanes shored up what might have been their most worrisome position on Friday by landing a commitment from former Michigan State starter Simeon Barrow Jr., one of the top defensive tackles in the transfer portal. —

Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024 The Justice Department has sued Google, accusing it of illegally shoring up a monopoly in online search. —

Cecilia Kang, New York Times, 2 May 2024 Those laws shored up gender equity and workplace safety on a number of fronts: pay equity, requirements for harassment training, procedures for reporting harassment, leave policies, and the elimination of nondisclosure agreements. —

Ali Martin, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shore up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.