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

Is the U.S. willing to climb the sanctions ladder, proceeding from those small refineries to target the Chinese state-owned banks and other institutions that sustain them?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Can my $2 million nest egg sustain two homes?

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026

But if we don’t sustain their vitality, how will they sustain ours?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

But they were seventh last time and will be there or thereabouts again, especially if they can sustain their home form.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Growers therefore had to sustain heavy losses or find themselves in the position of selling produce carrying illegal residues.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

But "higher oil prices is likely going to translate into higher prices for the consumer if it sustains at this level."

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 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

He added that the community, too, “is engaged to ensure a project that honors the past, respects the present, and sustains our future.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Given the amount of uncertainty and change ahead, passion is what sustains the motivation to keep learning and adapting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

That which sustains the universe beyond thought and language, and that which is at the core of us and struggles for expression, is the same thing.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

There was sustained momentum in capital markets and wealth management, and continued commercial loan growth in both Canada and the U.S., he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

This leads to more sustained droughts in some parts of the planet, and more ferocious storms in others.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

Analysts at Citi said they expect a “robust” 30 trillion won per quarter dividend to be sustained, backed by the secular memory market outlook that’s underpinned by long-term agreements.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages is leaning toward surgery to repair the fractured left hand he sustained after being hit by a 100-mph sinker from Pittsburgh pitcher Bubba Chandler on Friday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

The park sustained them, the green harbor they preserved as the town extended itself outward, block by block and house by house.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Shoehi Ohtani threw live batting practice for the first time since sustaining a knee injury that has kept him out of the Dodgers’ rotation since July.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

FY27 guidance is also soft due to lower-than-anticipated forecast copper output and higher-than-anticipated all-in sustaining costs, it says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

He missed much of the 2024-25 campaign after sustaining a serious knee injury, and parts of last season were disrupted by a hamstring issue.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

What it shows is the economy sustaining its momentum at the start of the third quarter following an above-average rate of growth in the spring.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026

Everyone on the trail dreams of something, usually sweet and gooey, and my sustaining vision had been an outsized slab of pie.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

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