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tr.v. sus·tained, sus·tain·ing, sus·tains 1. a. To keep in existence; maintain, continue, or prolong: sustain an effort. b. To keep up (a joke or assumed role, for example) competently. 2. a. To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for: the income needed to sustain a family. b. To support the spirits, vitality, or resolution of; encourage: We were sustained by her unflagging optimism. 3. To support from below; keep from falling or sinking; prop: The beams sustain the weight of the roof. 4. a. To bear up under; withstand: can't sustain the blistering heat. b. To experience or suffer: sustained minor injuries. 5. To affirm the validity of: The judge has sustained the prosecutor's objection. n. A capacity of a musical instrument to continue the resounding of a note or tone. [Middle English sustenen, from Old French sustenir, from Latin sustinēre : sub-, from below; see SUB- + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] sus·tainer n. sus·tainment n. |
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