Buttress vs. Reinforce

Buttressnoun

(architecture) A brick or stone structure built against another structure to support it.

‘flying buttress’;

Reinforceverb

(transitive) To strengthen, especially by addition or augmentation.

‘He reinforced the handle with a metal rod and a bit of tape.’;

Buttressnoun

(by extension) Anything that serves to support something; a prop.

Reinforceverb

(transitive) To emphasize or review.

‘The right homework will reinforce and complement the lesson!’;

Buttressnoun

(botany) A buttress-root.

Reinforceverb

(transitive) To encourage (a behavior or idea) through repeated stimulus.

‘Advertising for fast food can reinforce unhealthy dietary tendencies.’;

Buttressnoun

(climbing) A feature jutting prominently out from a mountain or rock.

‘Crowell Buttresses, Dismal Buttress’;

Reinforceverb

See Reënforce, v. t.

Buttressnoun

(figurative) Anything that supports or strengthens.

Reinforcenoun

See Reënforce, n.

Buttressverb

To support something physically with, or as if with, a prop or buttress.

Reinforceverb

make stronger;

‘he reinforced the concrete’;

Buttressverb

To support something or someone by supplying evidence.

Reinforceverb

strengthen and support with rewards;

‘Let's reinforce good behavior’;

Buttressnoun

A projecting mass of masonry, used for resisting the thrust of an arch, or for ornament and symmetry.

Reinforceverb

strengthen or support (an object or substance), especially with additional material

‘the helmet has been reinforced with a double layer of cork’;

Buttressnoun

Anything which supports or strengthens.

Reinforceverb

strengthen (an existing feeling, idea, or habit)

‘the next few months reinforced my opinion of Vince as a man of his word’;

Buttressverb

To support with a buttress; to prop; to brace firmly.

‘To set it upright again, and to prop and buttress it up for duration.’;

Reinforceverb

strengthen (a military force) with additional personnel or equipment

‘paratroopers were sent to reinforce the troops already in the area’;

Buttressnoun

a support usually of stone or brick; supports the wall of a building

Buttressverb

reinforce with a buttress;

‘Buttress the church’;

Buttressverb

make stronger or defensible;

‘buttress your thesis’;

Buttress

A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (sideways) forces arising out of the roof structures that lack adequate bracing.