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Webster 1913 Edition

Support

Sup-port′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Supported
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Supporting
.]
[F.
supporter
, L.
supportare
to carry on, to convey, in LL., to support, sustain;
sub
under +
portare
to carry. See
Port
demeanor.]
1.
To bear by being under; to keep from falling; to uphold; to sustain, in a literal or physical sense; to prop up; to bear the weight of;
as, a pillar
supports
a structure; an abutment
supports
an arch; the trunk of a tree
supports
the branches.
2.
To endure without being overcome, exhausted, or changed in character; to sustain;
as, to
support
pain, distress, or misfortunes
.
This fierce demeanor and his insolence
The patience of a god could not
support
.
Dryden.
3.
To keep from failing or sinking; to solace under affictive circumstances; to assist; to encourage; to defend;
as, to
support
the courage or spirits
.
4.
To assume and carry successfully, as the part of an actor; to represent or act; to sustain;
as, to
support
the character of King Lear
.
5.
To furnish with the means of sustenance or livelihood; to maintain; to provide for;
as, to
support
a family; to
support
the ministers of the gospel.
6.
To carry on; to enable to continue; to maintain;
as, to
support
a war or a contest; to
support
an argument or a debate
.
7.
To verify; to make good; to substantiate; to establish; to sustain;
as, the testimony is not sufficient to
support
the charges; the evidence will not
support
the statements or allegations.
To urge such arguments, as though they were sufficient to
support
and demonstrate a whole scheme of moral philosophy.
J. Edwards.
8.
To vindicate; to maintain; to defend successfully;
as, to be able to
support
one’s own cause
.
9.
To uphold by aid or countenance; to aid; to help; to back up;
as, to
support
a friend or a party; to
support
the present administration.
Wherefore, bold pleasant,
Darest thou
support
a published traitor?
Shakespeare
10.
A attend as an honorary assistant;
as, a chairman
supported
by a vice chairman; O'Connell left the prison,
supported
by his two sons.
Support arms
(Mil.)
,
a command in the manual of arms in responce to which the piece is held vertically at the shoulder, with the hammer resting on the left forearm, which is passed horizontally across the body in front; also, the position assumed in response to this command.
Syn. – To maintain; endure; verify; substantiate; countenance; patronize; help; back; second; succor; relieve; uphold; encourage; favor; nurture; nourish; cherish; shield; defend; protect; stay; assist; forward.

Sup-port′

,
Noun.
[F.]
1.
The act, state, or operation of supporting, upholding, or sustaining.
2.
That which upholds, sustains, or keeps from falling, as a prop, a pillar, or a foundation of any kind.
3.
That which maintains or preserves from being overcome, falling, yielding, sinking, giving way, or the like; subsistence; maintenance; assistance; reenforcement;
as, he gave his family a good
support
, the
support
of national credit; the assaulting column had the
support
of a battery.
Points of support
(Arch.)
,
the horizontal area of the solids of a building, walls, piers, and the like, as compared with the open or vacant spaces.
–
Right of support
(Law)
,
an easement or servitude by which the owner of a house has a right to rest his timber on the walls of his neighbor's house.
Kent.
Syn. – Stay; prop; maintenance; subsistence; assistance; favor; countenance; encouragement; patronage; aid; help; succor; nutriment; sustenance; food.

Webster 1828 Edition

Support

SUPPORT

,
Verb.
T.
[L. supporto; sub and porto, to carry.]
1.
To bear; to sustain; to uphold; as, a prop or pillar supports a structure; an abutment supports an arch; the stem of a tree supports the branches. Every edifice must have a foundation to support it; a rope or cord supports a weight.
2.
To endure without being overcome; as, to support pain, distress or misfortunes.
This fierce demeanor and his insolence,
The patience of a God could not support.
3.
To bear; to endure; as, to support fatigues or hardships; to support violent exertions. The eye will not support the light of the sun's disk.
4.
To sustain; to keep from fainting or sinking; as, to support the courage or spirits.
5.
To sustain; to act or represent well; as, to support the character or king Lear; to support the part assigned.
6.
To bear; to supply funds for or the means of continuing; as, to support the annual expenses of government.
7.
To sustain; to carry on; as, to support a war or a contest; to support an argument or debate.
8.
To maintain with provisions and the necessary means of living; as, to support a family; to support a son in college; to support the ministers of the gospel.
9.
To maintain; to sustain; to keep from failing; as, to support life; to support the strength by nourishment.
10. To sustain without change or dissolution; as, clay supports an intense heat.
11. To bear; to keep from sinking; as, water supports ships and other bodies; air supports a balloon.
12. To bear without being exhausted; to be able to pay; as, to support taxes or contributions.
13. To sustain; to maintain; as, to support a good character.
14. To maintain; to verify; to make good; to substantiate. The testimony is not sufficient to support the charges; the evidence will not support the statements or allegations; the impeachment is well supported by evidence.
15. To uphold by aid or countenance; as, to support a friend or a party.
16. To vindicate; to maintain; to defend successfully; as, to be able to support one's own cause.

SUPPORT

,
Noun.
The act or operation of upholding or sustaining.
1.
That which upholds, sustains or keeps from falling, as a prop, a pillar, a foundation of any kind.
2.
That which maintains life; as, food is the support of life, of the body, of strength. Oxygen or vital air has been supposed to be the support of respiration and of heat in the blood.
3.
Maintenance; subsistence; as an income sufficient for the support of a family; or revenue for the support of the army and navy.
4.
Maintenance; an upholding; continuance in any state, or preservation from falling, sinking or failing; as taxes necessary for the support of public credit; a revenue for the support of government.
5.
In general, the maintenance or sustaining of any thing without suffering it to fail, decline or languish; as the support of health, spirits, strength or courage; the support of reputation, credit, &c.
6.
That which upholds or relieves; aid; help; succor; assistance.

Definition 2024

support

support

English

Noun

support ‎(countable and uncountable, plural supports)

  1. Something which supports. Often used attributively, as a complement or supplement to.
    Don't move that beam! It's a support for the whole platform.
  2. Financial or other help.
    The government provides support to the arts in several ways.
    • 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:
      Kim was educated at the newly founded university in Pyongyang, named after his father, graduating in 1964. The 1960s and early 1970s were the golden years for the DPRK. It undertook rapid industrialisation, economically outstripped its southern competitor, and enjoyed the support of both the People's Republic of China, and the Soviet Union.
  3. Answers to questions and resolution of problems regarding something sold.
    Sure they sell the product, but do they provide support?
  4. (mathematics) in relation to a function, the set of points where the function is not zero, or the closure of that set.
    • 2004, Amara Graps, An Introduction to Wavelets — Historical Perspective
      The first mention of wavelets appeared in an appendix to the thesis of A. Haar (1909). One property of the Haar wavelet is that it has compact support, which means that it vanishes outside of a finite interval. Unfortunately, Haar wavelets are not continuously differentiable which somewhat limits their applications.
  5. (fuzzy set theory) A set whose elements are at least partially included in a given fuzzy set (i.e., whose grade of membership in that fuzzy set is strictly greater than zero).
    If the membership function of a fuzzy set is continuous, then that fuzzy set's support is an open set.
  6. Evidence.
    The new research provides further support for our theory.
  7. (computing) Compatibility and functionality for a given product or feature.
    This game has no mouse support.
  8. (gymnastics) Short for support position.
    2008, Christopher Sommer, Building the Gymnastic Body, the Science of Gymnastic Strength Training, page 88:
    Dip down as far as you are able, aiming to descend to the bottom of your sternum. Press back up to a support.

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

support ‎(third-person singular simple present supports, present participle supporting, simple past and past participle supported)

  1. (transitive) To keep from falling.
    Don’t move that beam! It supports the whole platform.
  2. (transitive) To answer questions and resolve problems regarding something sold.
    Sure they sell the product, but do they support it?
  3. (transitive) To back a cause, party, etc., mentally or with concrete aid.
    I support France in the World Cup
  4. (transitive) To help, particularly financially.
    The government supports the arts in several ways.
  5. To verify; to make good; to substantiate; to establish; to sustain.
    The testimony is not sufficient to support the charges.
    The evidence will not support the statements or allegations.
    • J. Edwards
      to urge such arguments, as though they were sufficient to support and demonstrate a whole scheme of moral philosophy
  6. (transitive) To serve, as in a customer-oriented mindset; to give support to.
    The IT Department supports the research organization, but not the sales force.
    I don't make decisions: I just support those who do.
  7. (transitive) To be designed (said of machinery, electronics, or computers, or their parts, accessories, peripherals, or programming) to function compatibly with or provide the capacity for.
    Early personal computers did not support voice-recognition hardware or software.
  8. (transitive) To be accountable for, or involved with, but not responsible for.
    I support the administrative activities of the executive branch of the organization
  9. (archaic) To endure without being overcome; bear; undergo; to tolerate.
    • Dryden
      This fierce demeanour and his insolence / The patience of a god could not support.
    • 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:
      For a strong affection such moments are worth supporting, and they will end well; for your advocate is in your lover's heart and speaks her own language […]
  10. To assume and carry successfully, as the part of an actor; to represent or act; to sustain.
    to support the character of King Lear

Antonyms

  • (to back a cause, party, etc.): oppose

Derived terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: month · news · prepared · #822: support · bit · India · produce

French

Etymology

From the verb supporter.

Noun

support m ‎(plural supports)

  1. support
  2. base
  3. (heraldry) supporter

Etymology

Borrowing from Old French supporter. Displaced Old English wreþian ‎(“to support, sustain, uphold”).

Pronunciation

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