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.