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.
However, some are worried about the sustainability of the businesses due to mounting losses and have warned of the risk of retail investors getting burned as institutional investors cash in.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
In their original bid book, the three prospective host nations unveiled a preliminary estimate of 3.6m tonnes of CO2e, referencing hopes that it would "establish new standards for environmental sustainability in sport".
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
“We are in a new AI-driven memory paradigm where we see sustainability of favorable dynamics suggesting the memory trade may only be in the mid-innings today,” Muse said.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
True sustainability cannot come from the hyperscalers pumping ever-increasing amounts of cash into the system.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
They're doing great, but the available farmland isn’t enough for sustainability.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
