prop up
Definition
- Verb:
- To support something by placing it against or under something else to prevent it from falling or collapsing. This involves providing physical support to an object or structure.
- To provide assistance or support to something that is struggling or failing. This is a figurative use, meaning to sustain or maintain something, such as a failing business or government.
Usage Examples
- Verb (Physical Support):
- We had to prop up the fence with a wooden post after the storm.
- She propped up the book on the table so she could read while eating.
- Verb (Figurative Support):
- The government decided to prop up the failing bank with a large loan.
- These measures are designed to prop up the economy during the crisis.
Advanced Usage
- "to prop oneself up": to support one's own body, often when sitting or lying down.
- He was so tired he could barely prop himself up in the chair.
Variants and Related Words
- Prop (verb/noun): The base form. As a verb, it means to support. As a noun, it is the object used for support (e.g., a stage prop).
- He used a stick to prop the window open.
- Prop (noun, theater): A portable object used by an actor in a play or film.
- The actor forgot his most important prop on stage.
Synonyms
- Support: To bear the weight of; to hold up.
- Buttress: To support or strengthen.
- Brace: To make stronger or firmer with support.
- Shore up: To support with or as if with a shore (very similar in meaning to "prop up").
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Prop against: To lean something against something else for support.
- He propped the ladder against the wall.
Related Idioms
- A prop and a stay: A person or thing that provides reliable support (archaic/literary).
- In difficult times, her faith was her prop and stay.
Verb
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support by placing against something solid or rigid
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shore and buttress an old building
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