buttressing
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Related to buttressing: angle buttress
but·tress
(bŭt′rĭs)n.
1. A structure, usually brick or stone, built against a wall for support or reinforcement.
2. Something resembling a buttress, as:
a. The flared base of certain tree trunks.
b. A horny growth on the heel of a horse's hoof.
3. Something that serves to support, prop, or reinforce: "The law is by its very nature a buttress of the status quo" (J. William Fulbright).
tr.v. but·tressed, but·tress·ing, but·tress·es
1. To support or reinforce with a buttress.
2. To sustain, prop, or bolster: "The author buttresses her analysis with lengthy dissections of several of Moore's poems" (Warren Woessner).
[Middle English buteras, from Old French bouterez, from bouter, to strike against, of Germanic origin; see bhau- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. | buttressing - a support usually of stone or brick; supports the wall of a building arc-boutant, flying buttress - a buttress that stands apart from the main structure and connected to it by an arch support - supporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation; "the statue stood on a marble support" |
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