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sustainability

American  
[suh-stey-nuh-bil-i-tee] / səˌsteɪ nəˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

  1. the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld, or confirmed.

  2. Environmental Science. the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.

    The committee is developing sustainability standards for products that use energy.


Etymology

Origin of sustainability

sustain + -ability

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.

Such a tax cut could take a big chunk out of government revenue, potentially raising alarm about the sustainability of Japan’s sizable debt.

From The Wall Street Journal

“That has to be a metric too: sustainability and availability,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

They also note that "The increasing demand for and excessive consumption of plastic have led to serious challenges for human and ecosystem health, posing threats to environmental sustainability and food safety."

From Science Daily

“Gaming remains the cornerstone of our ecosystem. With this change we are shifting our investment to focus on our third-party developers and partners to ensure long-term sustainability,” the memo said.

From Los Angeles Times

During the planning process a number of concerns were raised about its planned location, sustainability, scale and impact on the view and ecology.

From BBC