sustainable
Americanadjective
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capable of being supported or upheld, as by having its weight borne from below.
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pertaining to a system that maintains its own viability by using techniques that allow for continual reuse.
sustainable agriculture. Aquaculture is a sustainable alternative to overfishing.
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able to be maintained or kept going, as an action or process.
a sustainable negotiation between the two countries.
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able to be confirmed or upheld.
a sustainable decision.
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able to be supported as with the basic necessities or sufficient funds.
a sustainable life.
adjective
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capable of being sustained
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(of economic development, energy sources, etc) capable of being maintained at a steady level without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage
sustainable development
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(of economic growth) non-inflationary
Other Word Forms
- nonsustainability noun
- nonsustainable adjective
- sustainability noun
- unsustainable adjective
Etymology
Origin of sustainable
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.
And carbon-neutral sustainable fuels, such as those used in F1 now, are an interesting potential future solution to CO2 emissions if they can be made affordable for the mass market.
From BBC
The university said it would use the funding "to develop a plasma torch system, simulating the extreme thermal conditions spacecraft face during re-entry, as well as a sustainable water-based propulsion system for satellites".
From BBC
“It’s just not sustainable anymore for all the vehicles, 80,000 to 100,000 a day, to come into that very limited curb front.”
From Los Angeles Times
Itoje has said that such a workload is probably not sustainable, external in the long term.
From BBC
Use of mine water for cooling is permitted and encouraged in many states, providing a sustainable and cost-effective solution for data centers.
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.
