sustain

sustain
verb (T)
1 MAKE STH CONTINUE to make something continue to exist over a period of time; maintain (1): The teacher tried hard to sustain the children's interest.
—see also: sustained
2 GIVE STRENGTH to make it possible for someone to stay strong or hopeful: A good breakfast will sustain you all morning. | They were sustained by the knowledge that help would come soon.
3 sustain damage/an injury/defeat/heavy losses etc formal to be damaged, hurt or defeated or lose a lot of soldiers, money etc: Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.
4 WEIGHT formal to hold up the weight of something: The floor wouldn't sustain the weight of a piano.
5 IDEA formal to support an idea, argument etc: There was no proof to sustain his views.
6 LAW spoken | objection sustained (=used by a judge when saying that someone was right to object to another person's statement)

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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  • Sustain — is a parameter of musical sound in time. As its name may imply, it denotes the period of time during which the sound is sustained before it becomes inaudible, or silent.Furthermore, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope.… …   Wikipedia

  • sustain — sus·tain /sə stān/ vt 1: to support as true, legal, or just 2: to allow or uphold as valid sustain an objection compare overrule 1 sus·tain·able adj Merri …   Law dictionary

  • Sustain — Sus*tain , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sustained}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sustaining}.] [OE. sustenen, susteinen, OF. sustenir, sostenir, F. soutenir (the French prefix is properly fr. L. subtus below, fr. sub under), L. sustinere; pref. sus (see {Sub }) +… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sustain — sus‧tain [səˈsteɪn] verb [transitive] 1. if a company sustains losses or other difficulties, it has them: • Like other insurance companies, we have sustained heavy losses. • The record industry sustained a sales …   Financial and business terms

  • sustain — Fowler s view in 1926 was that ‘sustain as a synonym for suffer or receive or get belongs to the class of formal words, and is better avoided’, and its use in the contexts of injuries, losses, hardship, etc., is still widely disliked. Fowler was… …   Modern English usage

  • sustain — [sə stān′] vt. [ME susteinen < OFr sustenir < L sustinere < sus (see SUB ), under + tenere, to hold (see THIN)] 1. to keep in existence; keep up; maintain or prolong [to sustain a mood] 2. to provide for the support of; specif., to… …   English World dictionary

  • Sustain — Sus*tain , n. One who, or that which, upholds or sustains; a sustainer. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] I waked again, for my sustain was the Lord. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sustain — [v1] keep up, maintain aid, approve, assist, back, bankroll, bear, befriend, bolster, brace, buoy, buttress, carry, comfort, confirm, continue, convey, defend, endorse, favor, feed, foster, go for, help, keep alive, keep from falling, keep going …   New thesaurus

  • sustain — late 13c., from O.Fr. sustenir hold up, endure, from L. sustinere hold up, support, endure, from sub up from below + tenere to hold (see TENET (Cf. tenet)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • sustain — 1 *support, prop, bolster, buttress, brace Analogous words: *continue, persist, endure, abide: uphold, back (see SUPPORT): *prove, demonstrate Antonyms: subvert 2 *experience, un …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • sustain — ► VERB 1) strengthen or support physically or mentally. 2) bear (the weight of an object). 3) suffer (something unpleasant). 4) keep (something) going over time or continuously. 5) confirm that (something) is just or valid. DERIVATIVES sustainer… …   English terms dictionary

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