book ends
A pair of silver book ends hold up a row of colorful books on a wooden shelf.
Definition
- Noun (plural):
- A pair of supports: "book ends" are a pair of objects, typically made of metal, wood, or other materials, designed to hold a row of books upright on a shelf, preventing them from falling over.
Usage Examples
- (A pair of supports for books.)
- (Decorative supports for books.)
Advanced Usage
- "to be book ends": in a figurative sense, to serve as a pair of supporting or framing elements.
- The two statues act as book ends for the garden path. (They frame the path like book ends frame a shelf.)
Variants and Related Words
Bookend (n, singular): a single support from a pair of book ends.
- One bookend is missing from the set. (One of the two supports is lost.)
Bookending (v, gerund): the act of placing supports for books, or metaphorically, framing something.
- She is bookending her presentation with two strong examples. (She frames the presentation with examples at the start and end.)
Synonyms
- Book supports: a general term for objects that hold books upright.
- Book stoppers: another term for book ends, emphasizing their stopping function.
Related Idioms
- Bookend the day: to start and end an activity or event with similar or significant actions.
- We bookended the conference with keynote speeches. (We began and ended the conference with important speeches.)
Phrasal Verbs
- Bookend something: to place something at both ends of a sequence or space.
- She bookended her speech with humorous anecdotes. (She placed anecdotes at the beginning and end of her speech.)