sustain
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
- Synonyms:
- carry
-
to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
-
to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
- Synonyms:
- bear
-
to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
-
to keep up or keep going, as an action or process.
to sustain a conversation.
- Synonyms:
- maintain
-
to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.
-
to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.
-
to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.
-
to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it.
The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.
-
to confirm or corroborate, as a statement.
Further investigation sustained my suspicions.
verb
-
to hold up under; withstand
to sustain great provocation
-
to undergo (an injury, loss, etc); suffer
to sustain a broken arm
-
to maintain or prolong
to sustain a discussion
-
to support physically from below
-
to provide for or give support to, esp by supplying necessities
to sustain one's family
to sustain a charity
-
to keep up the vitality or courage of
-
to uphold or affirm the justice or validity of
to sustain a decision
-
to establish the truth of; confirm
noun
Usage
What are other ways to say sustain? To sustain a claim or an idea is to uphold it as valid, just or correct. How does sustain differ from the synonyms maintain, support, or uphold? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- nonsustaining adjective
- sustainable adjective
- sustained adjective
- sustainedly adverb
- sustaining adjective
- sustainingly adverb
- sustainment noun
- unsustaining adjective
Etymology
Origin of sustain
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English suste(i)nen, from Anglo-French sustenir, Old French, from Latin sustinēre “to uphold,” equivalent to sus- sus- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre “to hold”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She had one successful training run, but crashed on the second one, sustaining further injuries that forced her to withdraw from the Beijing Olympics.
From Los Angeles Times
Comparisons with other planets suggested Uranus should not have been able to sustain radiation levels anywhere near what Voyager recorded.
From Science Daily
The discoveries are the result of more than 30 years of sustained archaeological and geological research carried out under the Moroccan-French Program "Préhistoire de Casablanca."
From Science Daily
To sustain the AI trade, companies will need to prove to investors that AI products can generate revenue and cash flow, Huber added.
From MarketWatch
Aside from the three fatalities, four people were hospitalized including two men, both 35, who were in critical condition, and two other men, 37 and 38, who sustained minor injuries, according to the fire department.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
