The soil was so badly eroded it could no longer sustain crop production.
This relationship would be very difficult to sustain.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
Sustain — is a parameter of musical sound in time. As its name may imply, it denotes the period of time during which the sound is sustained before it becomes inaudible, or silent.Furthermore, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope.… … Wikipedia
sustain — sus·tain /sə stān/ vt 1: to support as true, legal, or just 2: to allow or uphold as valid sustain an objection compare overrule 1 sus·tain·able adj Merri … Law dictionary
Sustain — Sus*tain , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sustained}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sustaining}.] [OE. sustenen, susteinen, OF. sustenir, sostenir, F. soutenir (the French prefix is properly fr. L. subtus below, fr. sub under), L. sustinere; pref. sus (see {Sub }) +… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
sustain — sus‧tain [səˈsteɪn] verb [transitive] 1. if a company sustains losses or other difficulties, it has them: • Like other insurance companies, we have sustained heavy losses. • The record industry sustained a sales … Financial and business terms
sustain — Fowler s view in 1926 was that ‘sustain as a synonym for suffer or receive or get belongs to the class of formal words, and is better avoided’, and its use in the contexts of injuries, losses, hardship, etc., is still widely disliked. Fowler was… … Modern English usage
sustain — [sə stān′] vt. [ME susteinen < OFr sustenir < L sustinere < sus (see SUB ), under + tenere, to hold (see THIN)] 1. to keep in existence; keep up; maintain or prolong [to sustain a mood] 2. to provide for the support of; specif., to… … English World dictionary
Sustain — Sus*tain , n. One who, or that which, upholds or sustains; a sustainer. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] I waked again, for my sustain was the Lord. Milton. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
sustain — [v1] keep up, maintain aid, approve, assist, back, bankroll, bear, befriend, bolster, brace, buoy, buttress, carry, comfort, confirm, continue, convey, defend, endorse, favor, feed, foster, go for, help, keep alive, keep from falling, keep going … New thesaurus
sustain — late 13c., from O.Fr. sustenir hold up, endure, from L. sustinere hold up, support, endure, from sub up from below + tenere to hold (see TENET (Cf. tenet)) … Etymology dictionary
sustain — 1 *support, prop, bolster, buttress, brace Analogous words: *continue, persist, endure, abide: uphold, back (see SUPPORT): *prove, demonstrate Antonyms: subvert 2 *experience, un … New Dictionary of Synonyms
sustain — ► VERB 1) strengthen or support physically or mentally. 2) bear (the weight of an object). 3) suffer (something unpleasant). 4) keep (something) going over time or continuously. 5) confirm that (something) is just or valid. DERIVATIVES sustainer… … English terms dictionary
