Crutch

Definitions

1. A device to assist in motion as a cane, especially one that provides support under the arm to reduce weight on a leg.
2. Something or someone that supports, often used negatively to indicate that it is not needed and causes an unhealthful dependency; a prop
3. A crotch; the area of body where the legs fork from the trunk.
4. A form of pommel for a woman's saddle, consisting of a forked rest to hold the leg of the rider.
5. A knee, or piece of knee timber.
6. A forked stanchion or post; a crotch.
7. An improvised device, usually made from a piece of cardboard, to hold the last end of a joint.
   slang

Equivalents

Examples

“He walked on crutches for a month until the cast⟳ was removed from his leg.”

“I'll lean⟳ upon one crutch, and fight⟳ with the other.”

“Sullen now, with stultified spleen, Mrs Dibble grappled her crutches and levered herself upright after an ungainly struggle⟳.”

“Alcohol became a crutch to help⟳ him through the long nights; eventually it killed him.”

“Rhyme[…]is […] at best a crutch that lifts the weak alone.”

CEFR level