sustain

[ suh-steyn ]

verb (used with object)

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.

sustain

/ 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

noun

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

Derived Forms

• susˈtained, adjective
• sustainedly, adverb
• susˈtainment, noun
• susˈtaining, adjective
• susˈtainingly, adverb

Other Words From

• sus·tain·a·ble adjective
• sus·tain·ing·ly adverb
• sus·tain·ment noun
• non·sus·tain·ing adjective
• un·sus·tain·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sustain¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of sustain¹

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

Example Sentences

The water recycling project was designed so that even as purified water is piped away, a stream of treated wastewater will still flow to sustain the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

They consciously deployed the nostalgic language of feudalism as a political smokescreen to obscure their moves to consolidate the cultural, political and economic power that would sustain their elevated social positions and the collective ascendancy of their race.

From Salon

"This group of players have been long into a campaign, some of them have won the Premier League and the Champions League, so of course they can sustain it," he said on TNT Sports.

From BBC

His own former theater company, Reprise, operated on a subscriber model, and the base of financial support to sustain it dried up, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

These fees account for nearly half of the FDA’s budget used to pay its employees and sustain the process of approving and evaluating the medicines the country relies on.

From Salon

Related Words

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