sustenance

American  

[suhs-tuh-nuhns] / ˈsʌs tə nəns /

noun

1. means of sustaining or supporting life or health; nourishment, especially food and drink.

   The small farm provided sustenance for the family of four during tough times.

2. one's means of livelihood.

   Buying handmade cloth from weavers ensures their sustenance.

3. something that sustains or comforts, especially a source of spiritual support.

   He is strong and peaceful and confident in the love of Jesus Christ, which is his sustenance right now.

4. the process of sustaining.

   Critical journalism has played an invaluable role in the sustenance of democratic governance in Nigeria.

5. the state of being sustained.

   Forest-clearing technology may be viewed as a useful tool contributing to human sustenance and self-sufficiency.

---

sustenance British  

/ ˈsʌstənəns /

noun

1. means of sustaining health or life; nourishment

2. means of maintenance; livelihood

3. Also: sustention.  the act or process of sustaining or the quality of being sustained

---

Other Word Forms

• nonsustenance noun
• self-sustenance noun
• sustenanceless adjective

Etymology

Origin of sustenance

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sustenaunce, sustinaunce, from Anglo-French sustenance, from Old French sostenance; see origin at sustain, -ance

Explanation

Sustenance comes from the word sustain, which means to continue. Sustenance is food or drink that allows you to continue to be alive. For many, prayer is a source of spiritual sustenance. If your chief source of sustenance is candy, you are going to get sick, but you will have a good time while it lasts. In much of the world, rice and beans provide sustenance to human beings. In the US, Native Americans taught Europeans how to grow corn, which turned into a major source of sustenance for their population.

Example Sentences

If everything else on the table was, by consensus, borderline inedible, securing salmon in the morning wasn’t just sustenance.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

Floreana's native species, Chelonoidis niger niger, was driven to extinction in the 1840s by sailors who took thousands from the island for sustenance during long voyages.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2026

Eagles typically only visit Big Bear to find food in the winter when their normal sources of sustenance have frozen over, according to the Friends of Big Bear Valley.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2026

On the ground level, this means community volunteer efforts like neighborhood environmental cleanups, helping food pantries distribute sustenance to families in need and volunteers assisting underfunded local libraries.

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2025

He handed the cup back to her and smiled as though he had taken sustenance from the deepest well in the world.

From "Beowulf: A New Telling" by Robert Nye

Related Words

• livelihood
• nourishment
• nutrition
• subsistence