To swell; protuberate; bulge or spread out.To stand or walk stiffly with the tail erect and spread, as the peacock, the turkey, and various other birds.To walk with a pompous gait and erect head, as from pride or affected dignity.To cause to swell; enlarge; give more importance to.To protrude; cause to bulge.n. A proud step or walk, with the head erect; affected dignity in walking.n. Stubbornness; obstinacy.n. Dispute; contention: strife.Swelling out; protuberant; bulging.n. A brace or support for the reception of direct thrust, pressure, or weight in construction; any piece of wood or iron, or other member of a structure, designed to support a part or parts by pressure in the direction of its length, struts may be either upright, diagonal, or horizontal.To brace or support by a strut or struts, in construction of any kind; hold in place or strengthen by an upright, diagonal, or transverse support.n. A condition (described in the quotation) of a freshly cut tobacco-plant, resulting from exposure to rain.n. In iron ship-building, a cast-steel or forged-iron support under water on each side at the stern of a twin-screw vessel close to the propeller. The strut usually has two arms resembling a V turned sidewise. At the apex of the V is a hub which contains a bearing through which the propeller-shaft passes, immediately abaft of which is the screw-propeller. The inner ends of the arms of the strut are riveted to the outside plating, or pass through it and are secured to the framing in the interior of the vessel. Also called shaft-strut and shaft-bracket.