Dictionary entries for 'sustain'

Synonyms

sus·tain (sə-stāń)

[Middle English sustenen, from Old French sustenir, from Latin sustinēre, sub-, from below; see sub–, + tenēre, to hold.]

transitive verb: -tained, -tain·ing, -tains.

To keep in existence; maintain.
To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for.
To support from below; keep from falling or sinking; prop.
To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage.
To bear up under; withstand: can't sustain the blistering heat.
To experience or suffer: sustained a fatal injury.
To affirm the validity of: The judge has sustained the prosecutor's objection.
To prove or corroborate; confirm.
To keep up (a joke or assumed role, for example) competently.