sustain
verb (used with object)
to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
had been sustaining
-
past perfect progressiveof sustain.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
The magazine has almost always lost money, and for the previous five years a small team of wealthy friends of the magazine had been sustaining it.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 12, 2014
In reality, Rudolph was very much alive, and had been sustaining himself by stealthily mooching off local businesses and residents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2014
Mrs. Tempest had been sustaining nature with cups of tea all through the agitating day.
From Vixen, Volume II. by M. E. (Mary Elizabeth) Braddon
Meanwhile I had been sustaining part of his weight.
From Who Goes There? by Blackwood Ketcham Benson
He plunged into the conversation between Harcutt and Densham—a conversation which they had been sustaining with an effort.
From Mysterious Mr. Sabin by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim
