sustain
Americanverb (used with object)
-
sustains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sustained,
past participle, past
-
sustaining
present participle
-
to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
- Synonyms:
- carry
-
to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
-
to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
- Synonyms:
- bear
-
to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
-
to keep up or keep going, as an action or process.
to sustain a conversation.
- Synonyms:
- maintain
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to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.
-
to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.
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to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.
-
to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it.
The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.
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to confirm or corroborate, as a statement.
Further investigation sustained my suspicions.
verb
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to hold up under; withstand
to sustain great provocation
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to undergo (an injury, loss, etc); suffer
to sustain a broken arm
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to maintain or prolong
to sustain a discussion
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to support physically from below
-
to provide for or give support to, esp by supplying necessities
to sustain one's family
to sustain a charity
-
to keep up the vitality or courage of
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to uphold or affirm the justice or validity of
to sustain a decision
-
to establish the truth of; confirm
noun
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
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sustainmentnoun
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nonsustainingadjective
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sustainableadjective
-
sustainedadjective
-
sustainingadjective
-
unsustainingadjective
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sustainedlyadverb
-
sustaininglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sustainsimple
-
sustainssimple
-
have sustainedperfect
-
has sustainedperfect
-
am sustainingprogressive
-
are sustainingprogressive
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is sustainingprogressive
-
have been sustainingperfect progressive
-
has been sustainingperfect progressive
Past
-
sustainedsimple
-
had sustainedperfect
-
was sustainingprogressive
-
were sustainingprogressive
-
had been sustainingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing sustain
List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
Experts and many business leaders warn however that Japan must welcome more foreign workers to sustain itself.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
The river also depends on melting snow to sustain it in the summer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“The key question isn’t whether contracts can smooth the cycle, but whether AI investment remains strong enough to sustain it,” Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya wrote in a recent note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
“We buy businesses that have cycles to them, but also make sure we buy businesses that have barriers to entry and can sustain those barriers even when the cycle is over,” Wilhelm said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
We cast lines out again and again hoping to reel something in, anything to sustain us, but she never bit.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
Currently the resurgence is fuelled locally by anger over foreign trawlers which overfish in Somali waters, damaging the fishing industry that sustains communities in Puntland.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
In Chandler and Pierre, “Lanterns” has an extraordinary pairing that sustains enough frustration, humor, passion and regret to keep us rapt through the episodes provided for review.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Mr. Stevens, known to American audiences for playing Matthew Crawley in “Downton Abbey,” has a supple, sensitive delivery that sustains a sense of epic splendor while bringing out the relatable aspects of Homer’s tale.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
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
One reason just mentioned is that agriculture sustains much higher human population densities than does the hunting-gathering lifestyle—on the average, 10 to 100 times higher.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
JLR says it has a range, at "sustained highway speed", of up to 320 miles.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Analysts say a full recovery, if current flows can be sustained, wouldn’t happen until well into 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Left tackle Rashawn Slater sustained a high ankle sprain and is a candidate for injured reserve, Harbaugh said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The industry has recovered only about half of tariff-policy-related costs, a "sustained margin drag that is likely to weigh on supplier financials," according to a commentary from Deloitte accompanying the survey.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
It was dignity I wanted to make an appeal for—the idea that as a nation we might hold on to the core thing that had sustained my family, going back generations.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
The 19th Century building has not been used for worship since 2008 and fell into disrepair after sustaining extensive fire damage two years later.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
After sustaining extensive damage from waves brought on by Hurricane Marie in early September, the Long Beach peninsula will soon be threatened by Hurricane Polo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Prof Sloan added that the university is looking forward to "sustaining a close connection" with the the honorary alumni in the years ahead.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Analyst Paul Kaner expects FY27 output of 405,000 oz of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of A$2,957/oz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
Only the thought of the possible catastrophes that might befall such an expedition, and of sustaining damage to my travelling suit, persuaded me to content myself with sitting here on this bench.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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.
