sup|port

sup|port «suh PRT, -POHRT», verb, noun.

–v.t.

1. to keep from falling or sinking; bear the weight of; hold up; sustain: »

Walls support the roof. Crutches supported the injured man.

2. to give strength, courage, or confidence to; keep up; help: »

Hope supports us in time of trouble.

3. to supply with the necessities of life; provide for: »

Parents usually support their children.

SYNONYM(S): keep.

4. to supply funds or means for: »

to support the expenses of government.

5. to maintain, keep up, or keep going: »

a town which is able to support two orchestras.

6. to be in favor of (a person, party, cause, or course of action); back; second: »

to support a motion, to support the foreign-aid bill. The members of his cabinet supported the President's view.

7. to help prove; bear out: »

The facts support their claim. The primary assumption made in the theory was supported by evidence (A. W. Haslett).

SYNONYM(S): verify, confirm, substantiate.

8. to put up with; bear; endure; tolerate: »

She couldn't support life without friends.

SYNONYM(S): suffer.

9. to provide a military unit with supplies, transportation, reserves, or protection: »

Naval fire supported the marine landings.

10. Theater. a) to act with (a leading actor); play a subordinate, though often important, part to; assist. b) to act or play (a part) with success.

–n.

1. a) the act of supporting: »

Columns serve for support. He spoke in support of the proposal.

b) the condition of being supported: »

A building must have support. This argument lacks support.

2. help or assistance; aid: »

He needs the support of a scholarship. Inability to enlist informed and enthusiastic public participation and support … (New York Times).

SYNONYM(S): backing.

3. maintenance; means of livelihood: »

That family lacks support.

SYNONYM(S): See syn. under living. (Cf. ↑living)

4. a person or thing that supports; prop; stay: »

The neck is the support of the head. Wheat supports are due to fall faster than those on other crops (Wall Street Journal).

5. Military. a) the assistance or protection given to one unit or element by another. b) a unit or a part of a unit which provides supplies, transportation, reserves, or protection to another unit or to the rest of the unit: »

Aviation may be used as a support for infantry.

c) the part of any unit held in reserve during the initial phase of an attack.

6. the material used as a foundation for a painting, such as a canvas, a wooden panel, or a sheet of paper.

╂[< Old French supporter, learned borrowing from Latin supportāre convey, bring up < sub- (up from) under + portāre carry]

–sup|port´ing|ly, adverb.

Synonym Study transitive verb.1, 2 Support, maintain, uphold mean to hold up or keep up, literally or figuratively. Support suggests bearing the weight or giving needed strength to prevent something or someone from falling or sinking: »

Teammates supported the injured player.

Maintain suggests keeping up in a certain condition by providing what is needed to prevent loss of strength, value, or some other desirable quality: »

The state maintains the highways.

Uphold chiefly suggests giving aid or moral support to a person, cause, belief, or institution: »

He upheld his brother's honor.