Sus-tāin'1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. SUSTAINED; p. pr. & vb. n. SUSTAINING.] [O. Fr. sustenir, sostener, N. Fr. soutenir, Pr. & Sp. sostener, Pg. soster, It. sostenere, Lat. sustinere, from sus, from subs, for sub, under, and tenere, to hold.]
Sense 1. To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support; as, a foundation sustains the superstructure; pillars sustain an edifice; a beast sustains a load; a rope sustains a weight.
Sense 2. Hence, to keep from sinking in despondence; to support.
Sense 3. To maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; to nourish; as, provisions to sustain a family or an army.
Sense 4. To aid, vindicate, comfort, or relieve. “His sons, who seek the tyrant to sustain.” Dryden.
Sense 5. To endure without failing or yielding; to bear.
Sense 6. To suffer; to bear; to undergo.
Shall Turnus, then, such endless toil sustain? Dryden.
You shall sustain more new disgraces. Shak.
Sense 7. To allow the prosecution of; to sanction; to continue; not to dismiss or abate; as, the court sustained the action or suit.
Sense 8. To prove; to establish by evidence; to be conclusive of as evidence; as, to sustain a charge, an accusation, or a proposition.
Sense 9. (Mus.) To continue, as the sound of notes through their whole length. Busby.
Synonyms—To support; uphold; subsist; assist; relieve; suffer; undergo.