Meaning & use
sustain
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To keep something going at the same level or for a long period without letting it fail.
Grammar: Takes an object: sustain growth.
Patterns
- sustain something
- sustain something over time
The team could not sustain its fast start through the whole season.
A balanced diet will sustain you through a long hike.
Farmers need rain to sustain the crops through summer.
verbtransitiveformal
To suffer an injury, loss or damage.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually something harmful: sustain an injury.
Patterns
- sustain an injury
- sustain damage
The goalkeeper sustained a broken wrist in the match.
The roof sustained heavy damage in the storm.
The firm sustained losses for three years running.
verbtransitive
To support a weight or hold something up without breaking.
Grammar: Takes an object: the beam sustains the load.
Patterns
- sustain a weight
The old bridge can barely sustain the weight of a truck.
These pillars sustain the entire roof.
The thin branch could not sustain a heavy bird.
verbtransitivelegal
To accept an objection as valid in a court of law.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually in a legal setting: the judge sustained the objection.
Patterns
- sustain an objection
The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.
Objection sustained, the jury was told to ignore the comment.
The court sustained the appeal.
Word forms
| third person singular | sustains |
|---|---|
| past tense | sustained |
| past participle | sustained |
| -ing form | sustaining |
Common combinations
- sustain an injury
- He sustained a knee injury during training.
- sustain growth
- The economy struggled to sustain growth.
- sustain life
- Water is needed to sustain life.
- sustain interest
- The film fails to sustain our interest.
- sustain damage
- The ship sustained serious damage on the rocks.
Synonyms and how they differ
- maintain
- Maintain means to keep something in good condition or at a given level, while sustain stresses keeping it going over a long time.
- prolong
- Prolong makes something last longer than usual, but sustain suggests holding it steady.
- suffer
- Suffer fits any unpleasant experience, whereas sustain is a more formal choice for injuries or damage.
- support
- Support is the general word for holding up or helping, while sustain adds the idea of lasting through time.
Opposites
Word family
- sustainable adjective
- able to continue without harming resources
- sustainability noun
- the ability to keep going without being used up
- sustained adjective
- continuing for a long time without a break
- sustenance noun
- food or drink that keeps a person alive
- unsustainable adjective
- unable to continue for long
Commonly confused: sustain or maintain?
sustain vs maintain
Maintain often means to keep something in working order, as with a car or a road, while sustain focuses on keeping something going or surviving harm.
Practice
The cyclist sustained a broken collarbone in the crash. Here, sustained means:
Choose one answer.
With injuries, sustain means to suffer them. Supported is another sense of sustain but makes no sense with a broken bone.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sustain”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.