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prop

[prop] Example Sentences Origin

prop

1[prop] verb, propped, prop·ping, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
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.
2.
to rest (a thing) against a support: He propped his cane against the wall.
3.
to support or sustain (often followed by up).
noun
4.
a stick, rod, pole, beam, or other rigid support.
5.
a person or thing serving as a support or stay: His father is his financial prop.

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Prop is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English proppe (noun); cognate with Middle Dutch proppe bottle stopper

un·propped, adjective


1. brace, buttress, bolster.

Example Sentences
  • Wage floors prop up the pay of unskilled workers and make services expensive to supply.
  • Every few minutes the boat grinds to a halt as the prop becomes entangled in water plants.
  • Wooden boards have been used to prop up the concrete roadbed.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

prop

2[prop]
noun Theater.
property (def. 8).

Origin:
1910–15; by shortening

prop·less, adjective

prop

3[prop]
noun
a propeller.

Origin:
1910–15; by shortening

prop-

a combining form representing propionic acid in compound words: propanil.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
prop1 (prɒp)
 
vb (when tr, often foll by up) (usually also foll by against) , props, propping, propped
1.  (tr) to support with a rigid object, such as a stick
2.  to place or lean
3.  (tr) to sustain or support
4.  (Austral), (NZ) (intr) to stop suddenly or unexpectedly
 
n
5.  something that gives rigid support, such as a stick
6.  a person or thing giving support, as of a moral or spiritual nature
7.  rugby either of the forwards at either end of the front row of a scrum
 
[C15: related to Middle Dutch proppe vine prop; compare Old High German pfropfo shoot, German Pfropfen stopper]

prop2 (prɒp)
 
n
short for property

prop3 (prɒp)
 
n
an informal word for propeller

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

prop
"support," 1440, from M.Du. proppe "vine prop, support," of unknown origin. Related to O.H.G. pfropfo, Ger. pfropfen "to prop," perhaps from L. propago "a set, layer of a plant" (see propagation). Ir. propa, Gael. prop are from English. The verb meaning "to support" is attested from 1492.
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prop
"object used in a play," 1911, from props (1841), shortened form of properties (in theatrical use from early 15c.). Props as slang shortening for proper respects (or something similar) appeared c.1999.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
prop
propeller
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

prop

see knock the bottom (props) out from.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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