sustainability
Americannoun
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the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld, or confirmed.
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Environmental Science. the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.
The committee is developing sustainability standards for products that use energy.
Etymology
Origin of sustainability
Explanation
"Sustain" means to last over time, so sustainability is the ability of something to last. As a civilization, we are concerned about the sustainability of our planet. Sustainability became a big idea after people began to realize that we were using up our natural resources, so you’re most likely to come across the word when you’re reading about recycling and energy use. If you hear someone talking about sustainability in the context of energy, they’re probably talking about alternatives to oil or coal — both of which will run out in the future. A sustainable source of energy is something that's always there — like water or wind.
Vocabulary lists containing sustainability
Human Geography - Middle School
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Human Geography - High School
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Ecology - Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems - Introductory
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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.
Yields have recently dropped away from multiyear highs, in tandem with growing worries about the sustainability of debt-funded AI investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Buildings are assessed across a range of criteria, including design vision, innovation, sustainability, functionality, and the ability to delight users and visitors.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
As an energy and sustainability expert, she has a professional interest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
In his view, Nvidia, AMD and other chip stocks were being dragged down Monday by ongoing concerns about the sustainability of the AI trade and the financial position of OpenAI.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
I hardly feel equipped to enter eighth grade, much less become a planetary leader in sustainability.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
