Crossword clues for bolster
bolster
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Bolster \Bol"ster\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bolstered; p. pr. & vb. n. Bolstering.]
To support with a bolster or pillow.
--S. Sharp.-
To support, hold up, or maintain with difficulty or unusual effort; -- often with up.
To bolster baseness.
--Drayton.Shoddy inventions designed to bolster up a factitious pride.
--Compton Reade.
Bolster \Bol"ster\ (b[=o]l"st[~e]r; 110), n. [AS. bolster; akin to Icel. b[=o]lstr, Sw. & Dan. bolster, OHG. bolstar, polstar, G. polster; from the same root as E. bole stem, bowl hollow vessel. Cf. Bulge, Poltroon.]
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A long pillow or cushion, used to support the head of a person lying on a bed; -- generally laid under the pillows.
And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster, This way the coverlet, another way the sheets.
--Shak. -
A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support any part of the body, or make a bandage sit easy upon a wounded part; a compress.
This arm shall be a bolster for thy head.
--Gay. Anything arranged to act as a support, as in various forms of mechanism, etc.
(Saddlery) A cushioned or a piece part of a saddle.
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(Naut.)
A cushioned or a piece of soft wood covered with tarred canvas, placed on the trestletrees and against the mast, for the collars of the shrouds to rest on, to prevent chafing.
Anything used to prevent chafing.
A plate of iron or a mass of wood under the end of a bridge girder, to keep the girder from resting directly on the abutment.
A transverse bar above the axle of a wagon, on which the bed or body rests.
The crossbeam forming the bearing piece of the body of a railway car; the central and principal cross beam of a car truck.
(Mech.) the perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched.
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(Cutlery)
That part of a knife blade which abuts upon the end of the handle.
The metallic end of a pocketknife handle.
--G. Francis.
(Arch.) The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital.
--G. Francis.-
(Mil.) A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation.
Note: [See Illust. of Gun carriage.]
Bolster work (Arch.), members which are bellied or curved outward like cushions, as in friezes of certain classical styles.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
mid-15c. (implied in bolstered), "propped up, made to bulge" (originally of a woman's breasts), from bolster (n.). Figurative sense is from c.1500, on the notion of "to support with a bolster, prop up." Related: Bolstering.
Old English bolster "bolster, cushion, something stuffed so that it swells up," especially "long, stuffed pillow," from Proto-Germanic *bolkhstraz (cognates: Old Norse bolstr, Danish, Swedish, Dutch bolster, German polster), from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell" (see belly (n.)).
Wiktionary
n. 1 A large cushion or pillow. 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 (label en vehicles agriculture) A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons which give 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. Sometimes also called a pillow or cross-head (Australian English). 5 The perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched. 6 The part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle. 7 The metallic end of a pocketknife handle. 8 (label en architecture) The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital. 9 (label en military historical) A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation. vb. To brace, reinforce, secure, or support.
WordNet
v. support and strengthen; "bolster morale" [syn: bolster up]
prop up with a pillow or bolster
add padding to; "pad the seat of the chair" [syn: pad]
n. a pillow that is often put across a bed underneath the regular pillows [syn: long pillow]
Wikipedia
A bolster is a long narrow pillow or cushion filled with cotton, down or fibre. Bolsters are usually firm for back or arm support or for decorative application. They are not a standard size or shape and commonly have a zipper or hook-and-loop enclosure. A foam insert is sometimes used for additional support. A bolster is also referred to as a cushion, a pillow and a prop. In western countries, a bolster is usually placed at the head of one's bed and functions as head or lower back support, or as an arm support on furniture with high rigid sides. Bolster pillows are also used as bumpers in cribs and for lounging on the floor in family and children's rooms.
In the United States, "body pillows" resemble bolsters and are designed to be hugged when sleeping.
A bolster is a type of pillow or cushion.
Bolster may also refer to:
- Bolster (surname)
- Bolster (knife), the thick metal portion of a knife joining the handle and the blade
- Bolster the Giant, a giant in Cornish legend
- Span bolster, a rail terminology
- Truck bolster, a rail terminology
- USS Bolster (ARS-38), a Diver-class rescue and salvage ship
- A type of Chisel
- Bolster (structural) see Wiktionary.
- A bolster plate ( metalworking), part of a stamping press.
Bolster is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
- Henry B Bolster (19th-century), American politician and businessman
- Judge Charles Bolster (20th-century), American judge
- Stephanie Bolster (21st-century), Canadian poet
- Warren Bolster (1947–2006), skateboard photographer
Usage examples of "bolster".
This was an important message for the community of potential advertisers because it bolstered the issue of credibility.
But the idea of simple scribal manipulation, which would mean that such desires never even existed, and which is advanced by modern authorities and bolstered by the similar examples from other cultures and by the predilection of scribes for amusing themselves with word and alphabet games, seems the best explanation.
Oncus sat cross-legged on the main deck under the awning, between Yama and Captain Lorquital, who lay on her side, propped by bolsters and puffing calmly on her pipe.
Air Force fatigues, with a Czech-made ZKR target pistol bolstered on her left side for the cross draw she favored.
Doc did the same with his weapon, the LeMat bolstered at his hip, the Webley jutting from his belt.
Colt Python bolstered on his hip, and several of his beloved throwing knives concealed about him.
Ryan bolstered his blaster, seeing that the double sec doors into the section were firmly closed.
I confess that I would feel more comfortable with my Le Mat bolstered once more on my hip.
All of the seven friends had bolstered their guns while they stopped to examine the samurai arrow.
He sprinted for it, bolstering the blaster as he moved, shouldering through the door, splintering it off its hinges and crashing inside.
He shot out a window in a jewelry store, adding another siren to the tumult of sounds on the street and bolstering the chaos.
It was quite normal that, if a city had suffered a particularly heavy raid, several railway batteries would be sent there immediately, partly to strengthen the defences against any follow-up raids, but mainly to bolster the morale of the bombed civilians.
Mister Bredford manages the part of young Randal with enough brio and costume changes to bolster a sagging career, plunging into the early battle scenes with commendable bloodthirsty zeal, and handling himself convincingly enough in those steamily explicit sexual encounters where all eyes are, in any event, on the voluptuous attributes of the tempestuous daughter of the neighboring plantation, played with an abandon obscuring any notions of her own acting ability by the stunning Nordic-Eurasian discovery Anga Frika in her first American starring role, had enough?
Roger said determinedly, but his tone did little to bolster the confidence of his companions.
He had then had three dozen sets of running gear reduced to component parts, had had a pair of master wagonmakers scrutinize and test every wheel-rim spoke, axletree, singletree, doubletree, bolster, pole, and hub.