Antonyms for shore up

Grammar : Verb

Spell : shawr, shohr

Phonetic Transcription : ʃɔr, ʃoʊr

Definition of shore up

Origin : "land bordering a large body of water," c.1300, from an Old English word or from Middle Low German schor "shore, coast, headland," or Middle Dutch scorre "land washed by the sea," all probably from Proto-Germanic *skur-o- "cut," from PIE *(s)ker- (1) "to cut" (see shear (v.)).
According to etymologists originally with a sense of "division" between land and water. But if the word began on the North Sea coast of the continent, it might as well have meant originally "land 'cut off' from the mainland by tidal marshes" (cf. Old Norse skerg "an isolated rock in the sea," related to sker "to cut, shear"). Old English words for "coast, shore" were strand (n.), waroþ, ofer. Few Indo-European languages have such a single comprehensive word for "land bordering water" (Homer uses one word for sandy beaches, another for rocky headlands). General application to "country near a seacoast" is attested from 1610s.

As in reinforce : verb strengthen, augment
As in support : verb hold up
As in sustain : verb keep up, maintain
As in uphold : verb maintain, support
As in bolster : verb help
As in fortify : verb make strong and secure; add to
As in hold : verb support

Example sentences :

Some one shore up and busted him a plenty with a soft-nose thirty.
Extract from : « Louisiana Lou » by William West Winter

It puts me in mind of one of the juttings of the shore up there.
Extract from : « The New England Magazine Volume 1, No. 3, March, 1886 » by Various

Can we shore up the timbers—or shall we have to begin to build a new house?
Extract from : « Dr. Jonathan (A Play) » by Winston Churchill

We then rowed in smoother water along the shore up to our camping-place.
Extract from : « Farthest North » by Fridtjof Nansen

It was not even possible to shore up the wagon beds so they might be dry.
Extract from : « The Covered Wagon » by Emerson Hough

I thought of that—I thought of every mortal thing; but can you shore up a bulkhead in five minutes—or in fifty for that matter?
Extract from : « Lord Jim » by Joseph Conrad

He borrowed all the crew to shore up the cylinders with spars and blocks from the bottom and sides of the ship.
Extract from : « The Day's Work, Volume 1 » by Rudyard Kipling

"My orders is to dig down sixteen feet and shore up the sides as I deepens," said Jones.
Extract from : « The Mysteries of London, v. 1/4 » by George W. M. Reynolds

The men of that country are working night and day to shore up the levees until the floods subside.
Extract from : « The Great Round World And What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1. No. 23, April 15, 1897 » by Various

We learned that there is always a narrow strip of water between the ice and the shore up and down the coast at that season.
Extract from : « In Search of a Siberian Klondike » by Homer B. Hulbert

Synonyms for shore up

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019