Library / English Dictionary

PROP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: propped    , propping   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A propeller that rotates to push against air

Synonyms:

airplane propeller; airscrew; prop

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("prop" is a kind of...):

propeller; propellor (a mechanical device that rotates to push against air or water)

Holonyms ("prop" is a part of...):

propeller plane (an airplane that is driven by a propeller)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A support placed beneath or against something to keep it from shaking or falling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("prop" is a kind of...):

support (supporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "prop"):

pitprop; sprag (a wooden prop used to support the roof of a mine)

Derivation:

prop (support by placing against something solid or rigid)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Any movable articles or objects used on the set of a play or movie

Example:

before every scene he ran down his checklist of props

Synonyms:

prop; property

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("prop" is a kind of...):

object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "prop"):

custard pie (a prop consisting of an open pie filled with real or artificial custard; thrown in slapstick comedies)

Holonyms ("prop" is a part of...):

mise en scene; setting; stage setting (arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Support by placing against something solid or rigid

Example:

shore and buttress an old building

Synonyms:

prop; prop up; shore; shore up

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "prop" is one way to...):

hold; hold up; support; sustain (be the physical support of; carry the weight of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "prop"):

bolster (prop up with a pillow or bolster)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

prop (a support placed beneath or against something to keep it from shaking or falling)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He propped Jim off with his long arm, and though the lad sprang lightly round him looking for an opening, he was held off as if a forty-inch bar of iron were between them.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In short I left her, when I went away at night, the prop and staff of Mr. Peggotty's affliction; and I could not meditate enough upon the lesson that I read in Mrs. Gummidge, and the new experience she unfolded to me.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Holmes propped it against the cruet-stand and read it while he ate.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He hobbled to the torch, where it stood propped among the firewood, and took a fresh light to his pipe.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Of all these pardons which I bear every one is stamped and signed by our holy father, the prop and centre of Christendom.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Henry propped himself up on an elbow and looked to see his comrade standing among the dogs beside the replenished fire, his arms raised in objurgation, his face distorted with passion.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

It did not seem as if a prop were withdrawn, but rather as if a motive were gone: it was not the power to be tranquil which had failed me, but the reason for tranquillity was no more.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

And he caught glimpses of their life, in the years to come, wherein, against a background of work and comfort and general well-being, he saw himself and Ruth reading and discussing poetry, she propped amid a multitude of cushions on the ground while she read aloud to him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

His seconds were on him instantly, and propped him up in a sitting position, his head rolling helplessly from one shoulder to the other, and finally toppling backwards with his chin pointed to the ceiling.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I propped my eyelids open with my two forefingers, and looked perseveringly at her as she sat at work; at the little bit of wax-candle she kept for her thread—how old it looked, being so wrinkled in all directions!—at the little house with a thatched roof, where the yard-measure lived; at her work-box with a sliding lid, with a view of St. Paul's Cathedral (with a pink dome) painted on the top; at the brass thimble on her finger; at herself, whom I thought lovely.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)