Illustration of buttress
- buttress 1
1
architecture
: a projecting structure of masonry or wood for supporting or giving stability to a wall or building
2
: something that resembles a buttress: such as
a
: a projecting part of a mountain or hill
b
biology
: a horny protuberance on a horse's hoof at the heel see hoof illustration
c
botany
: the broadened base of a tree trunk or a thickened vertical part of it
3
: something that supports or strengthens
a buttress of the cause of peace
buttressed; buttressing; buttresses
architecture
: to give support or stability to (a wall or building) with a projecting structure of masonry or wood : to furnish or shore up with a buttress (see buttress entry 1 sense 1)
Did you know?
The word buttress first budded in the world of architecture during the 14th century, when it was used to describe an exterior support that projects from a wall to resist the sideways force, called thrust, created by the load on an arch or roof. The word ultimately comes from the Anglo-French verb buter, meaning "to thrust." Buter is also the source of our verb butt, meaning "to thrust, push, or strike with the head or horns." Buttress developed figurative use relatively soon after its adoption, being applied to anything that supports or strengthens something else. No buts about it: the world would not be the same without buttresses.
Synonyms
Examples of buttress in a Sentence
Noun
the mother had always been the buttress of our family in trying times
after the wall collapsed, the construction company agreed to rebuild it with a buttress
Verb
The treaty will buttress the cause of peace.
The theory has been buttressed by the results of the experiment.
Recent Examples on the Web
Kristen Waggoner, Newsweek, 21 Jan. 2025
The shale boom has been one of the strongest buttresses supporting the recovery of the U.S. economy following the Great Recession.
—Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 6 July 2017
Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority, buttressed by the three justices nominated by Trump during his first term.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for buttress 
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Noun
Ice shelves like Amery act as buttresses, slowing the flow of glaciers into the sea, and playing a crucial role in stabilizing the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
—Kristen Waggoner, Newsweek, 21 Jan. 2025
The shale boom has been one of the strongest buttresses supporting the recovery of the U.S. economy following the Great Recession.
—Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 6 July 2017
Verb
Hudson buttressed Al Kooper’s original organ part into a chordal fortress, part of an incendiary performance that surges to peak after peak.
—Jon Pareles, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority, buttressed by the three justices nominated by Trump during his first term.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for buttress
Dictionary Entries Near buttress
Cite this Entry
“Buttress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buttress. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
buttress
1 of 2 noun
but·tress
ˈbə-trəs 
1
: a structure built against a wall or building to give support and strength
2
: something that supports, props, or strengthens
buttress
2 of 2 verb
: to support with or as if with a buttress
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