bolster

Meaning

Noun

1. A large cushion or pillow, usually cylindrical in shape.
2. A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support part of the body, or make a bandage sit easy upon a wounded part; a compress.
3. A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons that gives the front wheels enough clearance to turn.
4. A short, horizontal structural timber between a post and a beam for enlarging the bearing area of the post and/or reducing the span of the beam.
5. A beam in the middle of a railway truck, supporting the body of the car.
6. The perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched.
7. The part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle.
8. The metallic end of a pocketknife handle.
9. The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital.
10. A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation.

Verb

To brace, reinforce, secure, or support.

Synonyms

pillow

support

pad

uphold

sustain

cushion

prop

prop up

maintain

back

🔙

underpin

buttress

countenance

long pillow

strengthen

second

2nd

rest

stand by

back up

bear out

bolster up

boost

hold up

lean

preserve

reinforce

sponsor

indorse

pillow-fight

corbel

contend

patronage

patronize

carry

predicate

corbel-piece

press

bunk

buffer

push

put

die cushion

brace up

reward

brace

shore

shore up

sleeper

inch-tool

standby

befriend

stand up for

stick

beef up

subsidise

subsidize

subvention

beam

augment

timber

reenforce

trellis

truss

undergird

underlay

assert

underwrite

amplify

Dutch wife

stick by

head-rest

pillow for the head

bed pillow

adhere

subvent

corbel piece

endorse

espouse

fortify

heighten

die holder

Translations

traversin

ondersteunen

cabezal

reforzar

apoyar

peluw

coussin

appuyer

steunen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɒlstə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: bolster

Inherited from Old English: bolster

Cognate with Scots: bowster

Cognate with Western Frisian: bulster

Cognate with Dutch: bolster

Cognate with German: Polster

Cognate with Swedish: bolster

Cognate with Icelandic: bólstur

In summary

From Middle English bolster, bolstre, from Old English bolster (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *bolstr, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz (“pillow, cushion”). Cognate with Scots bowster (“bolster”), West Frisian bulster (“mattress”), Dutch bolster (“husk, shell”), German Polster (“bolster, pillow, pad”), Swedish bolster (“soft mattress, bolster”), Icelandic bólstur (“pillow”).