bolster
verb /ˈbəʊlstə(r)/
/ˈbəʊlstər/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they bolster | /ˈbəʊlstə(r)/ /ˈbəʊlstər/ |
| he / she / it bolsters | /ˈbəʊlstəz/ /ˈbəʊlstərz/ |
| past simple bolstered | /ˈbəʊlstəd/ /ˈbəʊlstərd/ |
| past participle bolstered | /ˈbəʊlstəd/ /ˈbəʊlstərd/ |
| -ing form bolstering | /ˈbəʊlstərɪŋ/ /ˈbəʊlstərɪŋ/ |
- to improve something or make it stronger
- bolster something to bolster somebody’s confidence/courage/morale
- I needed to stress the bus driver’s evidence in order to bolster my case.
- bolster something up Falling interest rates may help to bolster up the economy.
Oxford Collocations DictionaryBolster is used with these nouns as the object:- argument
- balance sheet
- case
- …
Word OriginOld English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bolster and German Polster.