What does "shore up" mean?

To reinforce or strengthen (something at risk of failure).

What is a synonym for "shore up"?

Common synonyms include: afford support, back, back up, backstops, bear, bear out.

How do you pronounce "shore up"?

Pronounced //ʃɔːˈɹ‿ʌp//.

Shore up

/ʃɔːˈɹ‿ʌp/ verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Usage: Use "shore up" as a verb when you mean to support by placing against something solid or rigid. It works well in active constructions where the subject is clearly the agent of the action.

Origin: From shore (“to provide with support”) + up. Shore is derived from Late Middle English shoren (“to prop, to support”) [and other forms], from shore (“a prop, a support”) [and other forms], + -en (suffix forming the infinitive form of verbs); while shore (noun) is from Middle Dutch schore, schare (“a prop, a stay”) (modern Dutch schoor), and Middle Low German schōre, schāre (“a prop, a stay; barrier; stockade”) (compare Old Norse skorða (“a prop, a stay”) (Norwegian skor, skorda)); further etymology unknown.

Watch out: Writers sometimes confuse "shore up" with "prop" or "shore" — the words overlap in meaning but differ in nuance or register. Use "shore up" when you specifically mean its core sense rather than defaulting to it as a generic substitute.

Definitions

Verb

1
To reinforce or strengthen (something at risk of failure). figuratively, often, transitive
"They hastened outside between storms to shore up the damaged fence."
2
support by placing against something solid or rigid wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

afford support back back up backstops bear bear out

Antonyms

All antonyms

collapse failure mine cave-in sapping

Example

More examples

"They hastened outside between storms to shore up the damaged fence."

Etymology

From shore (“to provide with support”) + up. Shore is derived from Late Middle English shoren (“to prop, to support”) [and other forms], from shore (“a prop, a support”) [and other forms], + -en (suffix forming the infinitive form of verbs); while shore (noun) is from Middle Dutch schore, schare (“a prop, a stay”) (modern Dutch schoor), and Middle Low German schōre, schāre (“a prop, a stay; barrier; stockade”) (compare Old Norse skorða (“a prop, a stay”) (Norwegian skor, skorda)); further etymology unknown.

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