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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.

Now, Wall Street is wrestling with the sustainability of an upturn.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

The ceremony honored achievements in fashion across several categories including ready-to-wear, jewelry, accessories, graduate design and sustainability.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

“We are advocating for more appropriate funding to ensure adequate access as well as the stability and sustainability of a program relied on by more than half of the seniors in this country.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

This rapid growth has raised concerns about sustainability.

From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026

Mom said he went there on vacation one time, instead of going to give lectures on sustainability.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

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.