·noun One who, or that which, upholds or sustains; a sustainer.
II. Sustain ·vt To aid, comfort, or relieve; to Vindicate.
III. Sustain ·vt Hence, to keep from sinking, as in despondence, or the like; to Support.
IV. Sustain ·vt To Suffer; to Bear; to Undergo.
V. Sustain ·vt To endure without failing or yielding; to bear up under; as, to sustain defeat and disappointment.
VI. Sustain ·vt To Prove; to establish by evidence; to corroborate or confirm; to be conclusive of; as, to sustain a charge, an accusation, or a proposition.
VII. Sustain ·vt To allow the prosecution of; to admit as valid; to Sanction; to Continue; not to dismiss or abate; as, the court sustained the action or suit.
VIII. Sustain ·vt To Maintain; to keep alive; to Support; to Subsist; to Nourish; as, provisions to sustain an Army.
IX. Sustain ·vt To keep from falling; to Bear; to Uphold; to Support; as, a foundation sustains the superstructure; a beast sustains a load; a rope sustains a weight.