sustain

American  

[suh-steyn] / səˈsteɪn /

verb (used with object)

sustains, present (3rd person singular) sustained, past participle, past sustaining present participle

1. to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.

   Synonyms:

   carry

2. to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).

3. to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.

   Synonyms:

   bear

4. to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.

5. to keep up or keep going, as an action or process.

   to sustain a conversation.

   Synonyms:

   maintain

6. to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.

7. to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.

8. to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.

9. to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it.

   The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.

10. to confirm or corroborate, as a statement.

    Further investigation sustained my suspicions.

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sustain British  

/ səˈsteɪn, səˈsteɪnɪdlɪ /

verb

1. to hold up under; withstand

   to sustain great provocation

2. to undergo (an injury, loss, etc); suffer

   to sustain a broken arm

3. to maintain or prolong

   to sustain a discussion

4. to support physically from below

5. to provide for or give support to, esp by supplying necessities

   to sustain one's family

   to sustain a charity

6. to keep up the vitality or courage of

7. to uphold or affirm the justice or validity of

   to sustain a decision

8. to establish the truth of; confirm

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noun

1. music the prolongation of a note, by playing technique or electronics

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

Derived Forms

• sustainment
  noun
• nonsustaining
  adjective
• sustainable
  adjective
• sustained
  adjective
• sustaining
  adjective
• unsustaining
  adjective
• sustainedly
  adverb
• sustainingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• sustaining
  present
• sustained
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sustain
  simple
• sustains
  simple
• have sustained
  perfect
• has sustained
  perfect
• am sustaining
  progressive
• are sustaining
  progressive
• is sustaining
  progressive
• have been sustaining
  perfect progressive
• has been sustaining
  perfect progressive

Past

• sustained
  simple
• had sustained
  perfect
• was sustaining
  progressive
• were sustaining
  progressive
• had been sustaining
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sustain
  simple
• will have sustained
  perfect
• will be sustaining
  progressive
• will have been sustaining
  perfect progressive

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”

Explanation

Sustain means to support something or keep it going. If you get hungry in the mid-afternoon, you might try snacking to sustain your energy through dinner. Beams and rafters sustain a roof — they keep it up. If you sustain a conversation over the course of hours, you keep it going during that time. If you sustain an injury, it means you are injured. If you sustain an interest in what you're studying, it means that you're just as excited about the subject after studying as you are when you began.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sustain sustains sustained sustaining

Even if you can only put away a little bit each year, it will compound and this money will help you sustain your lifestyle in retirement.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

Bohm’s defense team repeatedly has argued that there is inadequate evidence to sustain murder charges against him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

The confidence boost from new leadership will also depend on the prime minister being able to sustain positive momentum in the months ahead, Bellamy said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

It made the idea of a clean, surgical war impossible to sustain and allowed the authorities to present themselves as the defenders of the Iranian people against foreign attack.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

These examples demonstrate that the sole missing ingredients required to sustain food production in large areas of the Americas were domestic animals and crops themselves.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Once authorized, the facility will be allowed to load nuclear fuel and begin start-up testing to achieve first criticality—the point at which a reactor sustains a controlled nuclear chain reaction.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

He told me his Aztec rain god was painted in recognition of the agricultural economy that sustains the students’ families.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026

“Snowflake and Datadog have seen a reacceleration of revenue from AI. And so we have to see if that sustains, but that’s the best sign you could hope for,” he says.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

But unlike the tradwife with her gaggle of youngsters underfoot, the orangutan mother sustains this intense caretaking by spacing her kids seven or so years apart.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

I have to focus harder on the work, on my work, because the work is what sustains us.

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

Early August could bring some rain to parts of the country, but the Met Office has said there is no sign of sustained rainfall that would make a significant difference to the dry conditions.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Value investors argue that this year’s resurgence isn’t a fluke, but the start of a sustained long-term run.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

"The spacecraft is in great shape, and we're on schedule to resume sustained thrusting with the solar-electric propulsion system later this fall."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

“We’re excited to deepen our relationship with YouTube through a collaboration that reflects our strategy of partnering with industry leaders to drive sustained growth for NBCUniversal.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

The source of that confidence was a sustained programme of advertising the new science through public lectures and books conducted by the disciples of Newton, above all by Desaguliers.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

"The two sides underscored the importance of maintaining peace, security, and stability in the region, reducing the risk of miscalculation, and sustaining dialogue on matters of mutual concern," the statement read.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Reece James: The Chelsea captain said it was "boring" when people discussed his fitness, but the first-choice right-back missed three games after sustaining a hamstring injury against Ghana.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Technologies developed for sustaining life on Mars, including desiccation-resistant crops and efficient closed-loop life support systems, could improve sustainability on Earth.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026

It forecasts the Australian gold industry’s all-in sustaining costs to increase by roughly A$150/oz in FY 2027 and for cost inflation to be a key theme of upcoming annual guidance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

From the earth, from the air, sustaining forces pour into us—mostly from the earth.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Related Words

• assist
• bolster
• buoy
• continue
• defend
• help
• nurse
• preserve
• save