bookend

== English == === Etymology === From book +‎ end. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈbʊkɛnd/ (Standard Southern British) IPA(key): /ˈbɵkɛnd/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈbʊkend/ (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA(key): /ˈbʉkɛnd/ Rhymes: -ʊkɛnd === Noun === bookend (plural bookends) A heavy object or moveable support placed at one or both ends of a row of books for the purpose of keeping them upright. Synonym: book support (figurative) Something that comes before, after, or at both sides of something else. ==== Alternative forms ==== book-end, book end ==== Translations ==== === Verb === bookend (third-person singular simple present bookends, present participle bookending, simple past and past participle bookended) (transitive, often figurative) To come before and after, or at both sides of. Synonym: flank ==== Translations ====