shore
2
[ shawr, shohr ]
/ ʃɔr, ʃoʊr /
noun
a supporting post or beam with auxiliary members, especially one placed obliquely against the side of a building, a ship in drydock, or the like; prop; strut.
verb (used with object), shored, shor·ing.
to support by or as if by a shore or shores; prop (usually followed by up): to shore up a roof; government subsidies to shore up falling corn prices.
Origin of shore
2
1300–50; (noun) Middle English; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch
schore prop; (v.)
shoren, derivative of the noun
Words nearby shore
shoptalk,
shopwalker,
shopwindow,
shopworn,
shoran,
shore,
shore bird,
shore bug,
shore crab,
shore dinner,
shore fly
British Dictionary definitions for shore up (1 of 3)
shore
1
/ (ʃɔː) /
noun
the land along the edge of a sea, lake, or wide river
Related adjective: littoral
- land, as opposed to water (esp in the phrase on shore)
- (as modifier)shore duty
law
the tract of coastland lying between the ordinary marks of high and low water
(often plural)
a country
his native shores
verb
(tr)
to move or drag (a boat) onto a shore
Word Origin for shore
C14: probably from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch
schōre; compare Old High German
scorra cliff; see
shear
British Dictionary definitions for shore up (2 of 3)
shore
2
/ (ʃɔː) /
noun
a prop, post, or beam used to support a wall, building, ship in dry dock, etc
verb
(tr often foll by up)
to prop or make safe with or as if with a shore
Derived forms of shore
shoring, nounWord Origin for shore
C15: from Middle Dutch
schōre; related to Old Norse
skortha prop
British Dictionary definitions for shore up (3 of 3)
Idioms and Phrases with shore up
shore up
Support, prop, as in The new law was designed to shore up banks in danger of failure. This expression derives from the noun shore, meaning “prop,” a beam or timber propped against a structure to provide support. The verb shore dates from 1340 and was first recorded in a figurative context in 1581.