Sustain

Pronunciation

• IPA: /səˈsteɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

Origin

From Old French sustenir (French: soutenir), from Latin sustineo, from sub- + teneo.

Noun

1. (music) A mechanism which can be used to hold a note, as the right pedal on a piano.

Full definition of sustain

Verb

1. (transitive) To maintain, or keep in existence.
2. (transitive) To provide for or nourish.provisions to sustain an army
3. (transitive) To encourage (something).
4. (transitive) To experience or suffer (an injury, etc.).
• DrydenShall Turnus, then, such endless toil sustain?
• ShakespeareYou shall sustain more new disgraces.
5. (transitive) To confirm, prove, or corroborate.to sustain a charge, an accusation, or a proposition
6. To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support.A foundation sustains the superstructure; an animal sustains a load; a rope sustains a weight.
7. To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate.
• Drydenhis sons, who seek the tyrant to sustain

Derived terms

• sustainable
• sustainedly

Related terms

• sustenance

Anagrams

• issuant