SUSTAIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does sustain mean? 

• SUSTAIN (verb)
  The verb SUSTAIN has 7 senses:

1. lengthen or extend in duration or space

2. undergo (as of injuries and illnesses)

3. provide with nourishment

4. supply with necessities and support

5. be the physical support of; carry the weight of

6. admit as valid

7. establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts

  Familiarity information: SUSTAIN used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUSTAIN (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they sustain    ... he / she / it sustains   
Past simple: sustained   
Past participle: sustained   
-ing form: sustaining   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lengthen or extend in duration or space

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

keep up; prolong; sustain

Context example:

keep up the good work

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

bear on; carry on; continue; preserve; uphold (keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

continue; keep; keep on; retain (allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

sustainable (capable of being sustained)

sustainer (someone who upholds or maintains)

sustenance (the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Undergo (as of injuries and illnesses)

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

get; have; suffer; sustain

Context example:

He got his arm broken in the scuffle

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

experience; get; have; receive (go through (mental or physical states or experiences))

Verb group:

have (suffer from; be ill with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

cramp (suffer from sudden painful contraction of a muscle)

break up; collapse; crack; crack up; crock up (suffer a nervous breakdown)

break down; collapse (collapse due to fatigue, an illness, or a sudden attack)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Provide with nourishment

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

nourish; nurture; sustain

Context example:

This kind of food is not nourishing for young children

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

cater; ply; provide; supply (give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

carry (be able to feed)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

sustainable (capable of being sustained)

sustainment (the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence)

sustenance (a source of materials to nourish the body)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Supply with necessities and support

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

keep; maintain; sustain

Context example:

There's little to earn and many to keep

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

have; have got; hold (have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

patronage (support by being a patron of)

reseed (maintain by seeding without human intervention)

carry (keep up with financial support)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

sustenance (the financial means whereby one lives)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be the physical support of; carry the weight of

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

hold; hold up; support; sustain

Context example:

What's holding that mirror?

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

scaffold (provide with a scaffold for support)

block (support, secure, or raise with a block)

carry (bear or be able to bear the weight, pressure,or responsibility of)

chock (support on chocks)

buoy; buoy up (keep afloat)

pole (support on poles)

bracket (support with brackets)

underpin (support from beneath)

prop; prop up; shore; shore up (support by placing against something solid or rigid)

truss (support structurally)

brace (support by bracing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sense 6

Meaning:

Admit as valid

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

The court sustained the motion

Hypernyms (to "sustain" is one way to...):

acknowledge; admit (declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

sustainable (capable of being sustained)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

affirm; confirm; corroborate; substantiate; support; sustain

Context example:

The evidence supports the defendant

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sustain"):

back; back up (establish as valid or genuine)

vouch (give supporting evidence)

verify (confirm the truth of)

demonstrate; establish; prove; shew; show (establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment)

document (support or supply with references)

validate (prove valid; show or confirm the validity of something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

sustainable (capable of being sustained)

 Context examples 

The first pattern was characterized by sustained activation of brain regions known to signal, monitor and process potential threats.

(Researchers identify brain circuits that help people cope with stress, NIH)

Once he gained his feet, but his legs were too weak to sustain him, and he slowly wilted and sank back into the snow.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

I had had no purpose, no sustaining soul within me, anywhere.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

If I don't seem to need help, it is because I have a better friend, even than Father, to comfort and sustain me.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Had this star formed with only a slightly lower mass, the fusion reaction of hydrogen in its core could not be sustained, and the star would instead have transformed into a brown dwarf.

(Astronomers discover smallest known star, Wikinews)

A question about whether an individual's fatigue prevents or prevented sustained physical functioning.

(Fatigue Prevents Sustained Physical Functioning, NCI Thesaurus)

“I am a sick man; a very sick man, Hump,” he said, as he left my sustaining grip and sank into a chair.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

But no case could be sustained against him.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The ability to sustain an activity over a period of time.

(Endurance, NCI Thesaurus)

When an excitatory current develops in response to social stress—and is driven high enough for a sustained period—it triggers its own compensatory adaptation.

(Self-tuning neurons promote resilience to stress, depression, NIH)