Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (v. t.) 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.

2. (v. t.) Hence, to keep from sinking, as in despondence, or the like; to support.

3. (v. t.) To maintain; to keep alive; to support; to subsist; to nourish; as, provisions to sustain an army.

4. (v. t.) To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate.

5. (v. t.) To endure without failing or yielding; to bear up under; as, to sustain defeat and disappointment.

6. (v. t.) To suffer; to bear; to undergo.

7. (v. t.) 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.

8. (v. t.) To prove; to establish by evidence; to corroborate or confirm; to be conclusive of; as, to sustain a charge, an accusation, or a proposition.

9. (n.) One who, or that which, upholds or sustains; a sustainer.