All mainstay synonyms
main·stay
M m noun mainstay
- pillar — an upright shaft or structure, of stone, brick, or other material, relatively slender in proportion to its height, and of any shape in section, used as a building support, or standing alone, as for a monument: Gothic pillars; a pillar to commemorate Columbus.
- backbone — Your backbone is the column of small linked bones down the middle of your back.
- bulwark — A bulwark against something protects you against it. A bulwark of something protects it.
- linchpin — a pin inserted through the end of an axletree to keep the wheel on.
- strength — the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; vigor.
- buttress — Buttresses are supports, usually made of stone or brick, that support a wall.
- standby — a staunch supporter or adherent; one who can be relied upon.
- sinew — a tendon.
- prop — to support, or prevent from falling, with or as if with a prop (often followed by up): to prop an old fence; to prop up an unpopular government.
- supporter — a person or thing that supports.
- crutch — A crutch is a stick whose top fits round or under the user's arm, which someone with an injured foot or leg uses to support their weight when walking.
- stay — (of a ship) to change to the other tack.
- brace — If you brace yourself for something unpleasant or difficult, you prepare yourself for it.
- anchor — An anchor is a heavy hooked object that is dropped from a boat into the water at the end of a chain in order to make the boat stay in one place.
- staff — a group of persons, as employees, charged with carrying out the work of an establishment or executing some undertaking.
- maintainer — to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain: to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.
- sustainer — a person or thing that sustains.
- upholder — to support or defend, as against opposition or criticism: He fought the duel to uphold his family's honor.
- support — to bear or hold up (a load, mass, structure, part, etc.); serve as a foundation for.
- spine — the spinal or vertebral column; backbone.
- lifeblood — the blood, considered as essential to maintain life: to spill one's lifeblood in war.
- basis — If something is done on a particular basis, it is done according to that method, system, or principle.
- core — The core of a fruit is the central part of it. It contains seeds or pips.
verb mainstay
- undergird — to strengthen; secure, as by passing a rope or chain under and around: to undergird a top-heavy load.
- shore up — 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.
- upbear — to bear up; raise aloft; sustain or support.