YourDictionary

buttress

A buttress is a support for a building usually made of brick or stone. (noun)

A stone wall built against a wall to support the building is an example of a buttress.

To buttress is to provide support for a building, or to provide support and justification for an argument or idea. (verb)

  1. When a wall is providing support for a building, this is an example of a situation where the wall is a buttress for the building.
  2. When a fact supports a position or argument, this is an example of a fact that is a buttress for the argument.

YourDictionary Definitions. Copyright © 2012 by LoveToKnow Corp.

See buttress in Webster's New World College Dictionary

See buttress in American Heritage Dictionary 4

Learn more about buttress

buttress

link/cite print suggestion box