Bolster Definition

bōlstər

bolstered, bolstering, bolsters

noun

bolsters

A long, narrow cushion or pillow.

Webster's New World

A soft pad for easing pressure on any part of the body.

Webster's New World

Any bolsterlike object or support.

Webster's New World

(vehicles, agriculture) A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons which give the front wheels enough clearance to turn.

Wiktionary

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. Sometimes also called a pillow or cross-head (Australian English).

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Synonyms:
long pillow

verb

bolstered, bolstering, bolsters

To prop up as with a bolster; support, strengthen, or reinforce.

Webster's New World

To buoy up or hearten.

Visitors bolstered the patient's morale.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Antonyms:
undermine
not support
prevent
obstruct
hinder

Other Word Forms of Bolster

Noun

Singular:

bolster

Plural:

bolsters

Origin of Bolster

From Middle English bolstre, from Old English bolster (“bolster, cushion”), from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz, *bulstrą (“bolster”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- (“bag, pillow, paunch”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to swell, blow, inflate, burst”). 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”).

From Wiktionary
Middle English from Old English bhelgh- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition