sustain
//səˈsteɪn//
Forms
- present (v1)
- sustain
- past (v2)
- sustained
- past participle (v3)
- sustained
- present participle
- sustaining
- 3rd person singular
- sustains
- Plural
- sustains
Definitions
1.To maintain, or keep in existence.
- The city came under sustained attack by enemy forces.
- Sam managed to sustain his erection for two straight hours.
- The professor had trouble sustaining students’ interest until the end of her lectures.
2.To provide for or nourish.
- We rode five farsakhs today, sustained by a single bowl of curds and tortured by the wooden saddles.
3.To encourage or sanction (something).
4.To experience or suffer (an injury, etc.).
- The building sustained major damage in the earthquake.
1.A mechanism which can be used to hold a note, as the right pedal on a piano.
2.Clipping of sustainability.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3333
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Word family
Etymology
From Middle English susteinen, sustenen
From Old French sustenir (French soutenir)
From Latin sustineō, sustinēre (“to uphold”)
From sub- (“from below, up”) + teneō (“hold”, verb).