Bill Dahl
Did you know?
The word sustain is both handy and hardy. Its use has been sustained since the days of Middle English (its ultimate source is Latin sus-, meaning "up," plus tenēre, meaning "to hold") by its utility across a variety of consequential subjects, from environmental protections to legal proceedings to medical reports. The word is so prevalent and so varied in its application, in fact, that it enjoys sustained high ranking as one of our top lookups—evidence of our readers’ sustained commitment to, well, sustaining themselves with information about words.
Synonyms
Examples of sustain in a Sentence
Parker Mancino, arkansasonline.com, 8 Apr. 2024
No civilians or law enforcement officers sustained any injuries in the incident.
—Landon Mion, Fox News, 6 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sustain 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sustain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
Middle English sustenen, from Anglo-French sustein-, stem of sustenir, from Latin sustinēre to hold up, sustain, from sub-, sus- up + tenēre to hold — more at sub-, thin
Verb
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
1972, in the meaning defined above
Podcast
Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!
Dictionary Entries Near sustain
Cite this Entry
“Sustain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustain. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
sustain
verb
Legal Definition
sustain
transitive verb
More from Merriam-Webster on sustain
Nglish: Translation of sustain for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of sustain for Arabic Speakers
Share