prop up

phrasal verb

propped up; propping up; props up

1

: to stop (something) from falling or slipping by placing something under or against it

We propped up the beams with long boards.

propped the plant stems up

2

: to give help, encouragement, or support to (someone)

His faith propped him up in times of crisis.

Examples of prop up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15 percent of them to fail then these schools should fail anyways because they are being propped up by the CCP. —Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025

Furthermore, the Houston Rockets’ increase from three national TV games last season to 28 this year after the acquisition of Kevin Durant shows the league’s commitment to propping up its 2010s stars. —Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 16 Aug. 2025

A bit less onerous are manipulations of the tax credit to help prop up industries, such as the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric-vehicles set to expire on Sept. 30. —The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 13 Aug. 2025

Thirteen years after the founding of the NWSL, women’s professional soccer seems here to stay in more ways than one, with two of the biggest revenue drivers in sports—media rights and sponsorships—abundant enough to prop up two pro properties. —Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2025

Rhymes for prop up

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup