I. ˈbətrə̇s noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English butres, boterace, from Middle French bouterez, from Old French boterez, from boter, bouter to thrust — more at butt
1. : a projecting structure of masonry or wood for supporting or giving stability to a wall or building (as to resist lateral pressure or strain acting at a particular point in one direction) but sometimes serving chiefly for ornament
2. : any of various things that resemble a buttress in appearance:
a. : counterfort
b. : a projecting part of a mountain or hill
c. : a horny protuberance on a horse's hoof at the heel where the wall bends inward and forward
d. : the broadened basal portion of a tree trunk or a thickened vertical part of it
3. : something that supports, strengthens, or helps to defend
a buttress of the cause of peace
4. : an abutment built from a river bank to prevent logs in a drive from injuring the bank or jamming
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
1. : to furnish or support with a buttress
buttressing the bridge piers
: shore up : prop , sustain
the present river system buttressed now with … good levees — A.W.Baum
2. : support , sustain , strengthen
arguments buttressed by solid facts
measures to buttress the national economy against the stresses of war
Synonyms: see support
III. adjective
of a saw blade : having widely separated teeth with one edge perpendicular and the other oblique to the direction of motion