sustain

sustain: 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 slump in the first half.

2. to manage to make something continue to exist over a long period of time:

• The Dow Jones broke above the 2935 level in the early afternoon but was unable to sustain the gains.

• Officials predict the electronics industry will be able to sustain growth.

• We're seeing a healthy fall in inflation, but the question is whether it can be sustained.

— sustained adjective :

• a period of sustained economic growth

* * *

sustain UK US /səˈsteɪn/ verb [T]

► to make or allow something to continue for a period of time: »The board accepted that the growth rates could not be sustained indefinitely.

► to experience loss, injury, or damage: »As a result of the oil spill, BP sustained heavy losses.
»The port sustained severe damage in the storm.

► to provide support for an idea, statement, legal argument, etc.: »The data meant the government could not sustain its argument that lower duty on fuel would lead to lower spending on schools and hospitals.
»Only in one case could the auditors find evidence to sustain a claim of criminal behaviour.

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Synonyms:

Bear, support, uphold, hold up, keep from falling / Nourish, maintain, support, subsist, keep alive, supply with food / Aid, comfort, relieve, assist / Suffer, undergo, endure, bear / Sanction, approve, confirm, ratify / Justify, prove, establish, confirm / Continue, hold

Look at other dictionaries:

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 — 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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sustain

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