Bolster
Bolster verb - To hold up or serve as a foundation for.
Keep and bolster are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Keep" instead a verb "Bolster".
Nearby Words: bolstered, bolstering
Keep
Keep verb - To mark with an appropriate practice, rite, or ceremony.
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
-
The stakes keep getting higher and the girls keep getting hit with The Worf Effect to bolster off these bad guys.
Source: Anime / Pretty Cure All Stars -
They've survived direct hits from meteors, nuclear explosions, being swallowed up by lava, being dropped into suns (although that one had an energy shield to bolster it)... often, not only do they survive these ordeals, but they keep functioning perfectly.
Source: Made of Indestructium - Then when you go to board the Q, you have to keep sending in more marines to bolster their thinning ranks, because on Xenon ships if less than 18 marines remain when they go to hack the computer core, the boarding attempt fails automatically.
Source: That One Achievement
Cite this Source
Keep and Bolster. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 22, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/bolster/keep
Bolster & Keep. N.p., 2016. Web. 22 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/bolster/keep>.
Keep or Bolster. 2016. Accessed July 22, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/bolster/keep.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "bolster" and "keep" have occurred on timeline