# bolster

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɒlstə/ · frequency rank #19,274

## Definitions
1. A large cushion or pillow, usually cylindrical in shape.
2. A pad, quilt, or anything used to hinder pressure, support part of the body, or make a bandage sit easy upon a wounded part; a compress.
3. A small spacer located on top of the axle of horse-drawn wagons that gives the front wheels enough clearance to turn.
4. A short, horizontal structural timber between a post and a beam for enlarging the bearing area of the post and/or reducing the span of the beam.
5. A beam in the middle of a railway truck, supporting the body of the car.
6. The perforated plate in a punching machine on which anything rests when being punched.
7. The part of a knife blade that abuts upon the end of the handle.
8. The metallic end of a pocketknife handle.
9. The rolls forming the ends or sides of the Ionic capital.
10. A block of wood on the carriage of a siege gun, upon which the breech of the gun rests when arranged for transportation.
11. That which supports or promotes; a catalyst.
12. A wide-bladed cold chisel designed to split and shape bricks.

## Etymology
From Middle English bolster, bolstre, from Old English bolster (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *bolstr, from Proto-Germanic *bulstraz (“pillow, cushion”). Cognate with Scots bowster (“bolster”), West Frisian bulster (“mattress”), Dutch bolster (“husk, shell”), German Polster (“bolster, pillow, pad”), Swedish bolster (“soft mattress, bolster”), Icelandic bólstur (“pillow”).

## Easily confused with
- **buster** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bolster-vs-buster)
- **bolted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bolster-vs-bolted)
- **bowser** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bolster-vs-bowser)
- **booster** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bolster-vs-booster)
- **bolstered** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bolster-vs-bolstered)
- **bolder** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bolder-vs-bolster)
- **boasted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/boasted-vs-bolster)
- **blaster** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blaster-vs-bolster)
- **blister** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blister-vs-bolster)
- **bluster** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluster-vs-bolster)

## Common misspellings (11)
`bbolster`, `bloster`, `bollster`, `bolsetr`, `bolsster`, `bolsterr`, `bolstre`, `bolstter`, `boltser`, `boslter`, `oblster`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bolster