sustain

[suh-steyn]

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verb (used with object)

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

to confirm or corroborate, as a statement: Further investigation sustained my suspicions.

Origin of sustain

1250–1300; Middle English suste(i)nen < Anglo-French sustenir, Old French < Latin sustinēre to uphold, equivalent to sus- sus- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre to hold

Related formssus·tain·a·ble, adjectivesus·tain·ed·ly

[suh-stey-nid-lee, -steynd-] /səˈsteɪ nɪd li, -ˈsteɪnd-/, adverbsus·tain·ing·ly, adverbsus·tain·ment, nounnon·sus·tained, adjectivenon·sus·tain·ing, adjectivepre·sus·tained, adjectiveun·sus·tained, adjectiveun·sus·tain·ing, adjectivewell-sus·tained, adjective

Synonyms for sustain

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1. carry. 3. bear. 5. maintain.

Synonym study

1. See support.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sustain

Contemporary Examples of sustain

A winning team may pack the stadium, but you need that packed stadium to get top recruits and sustain victories.
How The University of Wisconsin Badgers Are Bucking the Big Ten Ticket Flop
Brian Weidy
October 31, 2014
How long can they sustain this momentum without falling victim to the same pitfalls as nearly every other long-running series?
Will Gardner Had to Die So That ‘The Good Wife’ Could Thrive
Jason Lynch
September 19, 2014
Duhozanye has the land and the need, but lacks the $300,000 it will cost to build and sustain.
After the Genocide, Rwanda’s Widows Aging Alone
Nina Strochlic
August 31, 2014
But fluctuations of mere feet during its flood season could sustain the rise of empires, or hasten their fall.
The Nile: Where Ancient and Modern Meet
William O’Connor
June 21, 2014
Moreover, any truly effective coordination would be politically controversial, logistically problematic, and hard to sustain.
How Iran and America Can Beat ISIS Together
Ben Van Heuvelen
June 21, 2014

Historical Examples of sustain

Gotleib contended that Arledge could sustain the reduction required.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
You have summoned me in my weakness; you must sustain me by your strength.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
God helping me, I will not fail them, if they will but counsel and sustain me!
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Do you assist me, comfort me, sustain me in dreadful situation?
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
The voice which calls upon us to sustain them is the voice of God.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VII (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier

British Dictionary definitions for sustain

sustain

verb (tr)

to hold up under; withstandto sustain great provocation

to undergo (an injury, loss, etc); sufferto sustain a broken arm

to maintain or prolongto sustain a discussion

to support physically from below

to provide for or give support to, esp by supplying necessitiesto sustain one's family; to sustain a charity

to keep up the vitality or courage of

to uphold or affirm the justice or validity ofto sustain a decision

to establish the truth of; confirm

noun

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

Derived Formssustained, adjectivesustainedly (səˈsteɪnɪdlɪ), adverbsustaining, adjectivesustainingly, adverbsustainment, noun

Word Origin for sustain

C13: via Old French from Latin sustinēre to hold up, from sub- + tenēre to hold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sustain

late 13c., from Old French sustenir "hold up, endure," from Latin sustinere "hold up, support, endure," from sub "up from below" (see sub-) + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Related: Sustained; sustaining.

sustain

verb (used with object)

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Origin of sustain

Synonyms for sustain

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for sustain

Contemporary Examples of sustain

Historical Examples of sustain

sustain

verb (tr)

noun

Word Origin for sustain