pillar
Tall load bearer
A pillar is a vertical structure that supports something above it—a column holding up a roof or bridge.
The word extends to anything that provides essential support: a pillar of the community is someone whose presence and contributions are fundamental to it.
The pillars of democracy are its foundational principles.
To go from pillar to post is to move frantically from place to place seeking help or resolution.
Vertical structural element
- colonnadeRow supporting a roof
- porticoColumned covered entryway
- peristyleColumned enclosure around courtyard
- capitalWealth used for investment
shaft · base · fluting · entablature · architrave · frieze · cornice · pediment
Foundational building block
- mainstayPrimary source of support
- backboneVertebral column, or courage
- anchorSecures ships to seabed
- linchpinVital securing element
keystone · bedrock · foundation · bulwark · stalwart · champion · leader · supporter
At right angles groundward
- uprightVertical or morally sound
- columnVertical structural element
- cylinderCircular-based solid form
- postVertical structural beam
shaft · tower · spire · standing · erect · freestanding · tall · towering
Sustaining structural mass
- supportTo uphold or sustain
- buttressArchitectural wall reinforcement
- braceDevice providing structural stability
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
strut · girder · stanchion · prop · underpinning · foundation · footing · weight
column
Vertical structural element
- colonnadeRow supporting a roof
- porticoColumned covered entryway
- peristyleColumned enclosure around courtyard
capital · shaft · base · fluting · entablature · architrave · frieze · cornice · pediment · Doric
cornerstone
Foundational building block
linchpin · keystone · bedrock · foundation · bulwark · stalwart · champion · leader · supporter · upholder
vertical
At right angles groundward
post · shaft · tower · spire · standing · erect · freestanding · tall · towering · slender
load-bearing
Sustaining structural mass
- supportTo uphold or sustain
- buttressArchitectural wall reinforcement
- braceDevice providing structural stability
reinforcement · strut · girder · stanchion · prop · underpinning · foundation · footing · weight · stability
paddle
Flat-bladed water tool
bracing · stability · support · roll · technique · whitewater · recovery
monument
Structure honoring someone remembered
- memorialThing preserving remembrance
- markerSomething that signals location
- landmarkNotable point of reference
obelisk · totem · beacon · shrine · stele · cenotaph · tribute · commemorative · sacred · ceremonial
- constructionconstruction site, building site, hammer, building, beam
- building exteriorsfacade, storefront, entrance, doorway, window
- structureshouse, bridge, buildings, dome, building
- freestandingbookcase, bookshelf, coat rack, easel, hat stand
- posts and polesfence post, flagpole, lamp post, telephone pole, utility pole
- towering thingsskyscraper, redwood, mountain, obelisk, spire
pillarunderminer
One who weakens covertly
destabilizer · corrupter · subverter · liability · weak link
- pillar of the communityRespected local leader
- pillar of strengthDependable source of support
- pillar-box redBright British mailbox crimson
- from pillar to postShunted about aimlessly
- pillar of societyEsteemed, upstanding community member
- pillar of saltBiblical backward glance
pillars, pillared, pillarless, pillarlike, pillarbox, pillar candle