Definition of sustain
- v. t. - To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support;
as, a foundation sustains the superstructure; a beast sustains a load;
a rope sustains a weight.
- v. t. - Hence, to keep from sinking, as in despondence, or the
like; to support.
- v. t. - To maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; to
nourish; as, provisions to sustain an army.
- v. t. - To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate.
- v. t. - To endure without failing or yielding; to bear up
under; as, to sustain defeat and disappointment.
- v. t. - To suffer; to bear; to undergo.
- v. t. - To allow the prosecution of; to admit as valid; to
sanction; to continue; not to dismiss or abate; as, the court sustained
the action or suit.
- v. t. - To prove; to establish by evidence; to corroborate or
confirm; to be conclusive of; as, to sustain a charge, an accusation,
or a proposition.
- n. - One who, or that which, upholds or sustains; a sustainer.