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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

sustain

/səˈsteɪn/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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What does sustain mean?

verb

  1. To maintain, or keep in existence.
  2. To provide for or nourish.
  3. To encourage or sanction (something).
More meanings (8)

verb

  1. To experience or suffer (an injury, etc.).
  2. To confirm, prove, or corroborate; to uphold.
  3. To allow, accept, or admit (e.g. an objection or motion) as valid.
  4. To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support.
  5. To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate.
  6. To be a long-lasting sound.

noun

  1. A mechanism which can be used to hold a note, as the right pedal on a piano.
  2. Clipping of sustainability.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/səˈsteɪn/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

They sent, therefore, in haste to Pausanias, demanding relief, as not being able alone to sustain the great numbers of the barbarians.
PlutarchPlutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and RomansProject Gutenberg ebook #674
Wire, Anti-lift or Landing--A wire opposed to the direction of gravity, and used to sustain a surface when it is at rest.
H. (Horatio) BarberThe Aeroplane SpeaksProject Gutenberg ebook #818
More book examples (3)
Men are also gained over by liberality, especially such as have not the means to buy what is necessary to sustain life.
Benedictus de SpinozaEthics — Part 4Translated by R. H. M. (Robert Harvey Monro) ElwesProject Gutenberg ebook #971
The superintendent and officers or bosses should sustain this same sympathetic relationship toward their men that the executive has toward his officers.
Walter Dill ScottIncreasing Human Efficiency in Business A Contribution to the Psychology of BusinessProject Gutenberg ebook #1319
The loss which Spain and Portugal could sustain by this exportation of their gold and silver, would be altogether nominal and imaginary.
Adam SmithAn Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of NationsProject Gutenberg ebook #3300