prop
UK /pɹɒp/ · US /pɹɑp/ noun, verb
Forms props propping propped
- noun An object placed against or under another, to support it; anything that supports. “They stuck a block of wood under it as a prop.”
- noun (rugby) The player on either side of the hooker in a scrum.
- noun Any of the seashells in the game of props.
- verb (transitive, sometimes figurative) To support or shore up something. “Try using a phone book to prop up the table where the foot is missing.”
- verb (intransitive) To play rugby in the prop position.
- verb (transitive, usually with "up" - see prop up) To position the feet of (a person) while sitting, lying down, or reclining so that the knees are elevated at a higher level.
- verb (intransitive, Australia, New Zealand) To stop suddenly or unexpectedly; derived from the situation where a horse might suddenly halt of its own accord, digging its front hooves into the ground to brace itself from forward movement, potentially unseating its rider.
- verb (transitive, UK, slang, obsolete) To knock (a person) down.
- noun (theater, film) An item placed on a stage or set to create a scene or scenario in which actors perform. “They used the trophy as a prop in the movie.”
- noun (colloquial) A fake or fabricated version of an object, whether or not it is used for a scene. “We threw a prop squirrel off of a tower.”
- noun An item placed within an advertisement in order to suggest a style of living etc.
- noun The propeller of an aircraft or boat.
- verb To manually start the engine of a propeller-driven aircraft with no electric starter by pulling vigorously on one of the propeller blades using the hands, so that the propeller can catch ignition.
- noun (US politics) A proposition, especially on an election-day ballot.
- noun (Internet slang) A part of a plant reared for its multiplication.
- noun (bodybuilding slang) Testosterone propionate.
- noun (obsolete, slang) A blow; the act of striking someone.
- noun (obsolete, thieves' cant) A scarf pin.
Synonyms
shore test prop property airplane propeller airscrew prop up shore up
Etymology
From Middle English proppe (“a prop, support, support for a vine or plant”), from Middle Dutch proppe (“support, support for a vine, stopper for a bottle”). Compare Middle Low German proppe (“plug, stopper”), German Pfropfen (“plug”), Danish prop (“plug, stopper”).
Clipping of property.
Clipping of propeller.
Clipping of proposition.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A shell, used as a die. See Props.
- verb To support, or prevent from falling, by placing something under or against; as, to prop up a fence or an old building; (Fig.) to sustain; to maintain; as, to prop a declining state. Shak.
- noun That which sustains an incumbent weight; that on which anything rests or leans for support; a support; a stay; as, a prop for a building. "Two props of virtue." Shak.
Etymology [Akin to LG. & D. proppen to cram, stuff, thrust into, stop, G. pfropfen, Dan. proppe, Sw. proppa; of uncertain origin, cf. G. pfropfen to graft, fr. L. propago set, layer of a plant, slip, shoot. Cf. 3d. Prop, Propagate.]
Etymology [Akin to LG., D., & Dan. prop stopple, stopper, cork, Sw. propp, G. pfropf. See Prop, v.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “prop”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details