support
/səˈpɔːt
/verb [with object]
1Bear all or part of the weight of; hold up: the dome was supported by a hundred white columns...
- The sixty-three-ton dome was also supported by reinforced braces.
- A structural, or load bearing, brick wall is a wall in which brick supports the weight of the structure.
- It is the frame that supports the weight of the prop and the child actor, distributing it across the body of the bearer.
Synonyms
hold up, bear, carry, prop up, keep up, bolster up, brace, shore up, underpin, buttress, reinforce
2Give assistance to, especially financially: the government gives £2,500 million a year to support the voluntary sector...
- These people are supported financially and given all assistance to be self-sufficient in our community and this cost a lot of money.
- He's in love with her but is too much of a coward to leave Vanessa, who supports him financially.
- One of the ways liberals hope to regain that ground is by following the conservative model of running and financially supporting candidates in local races.
Synonyms
help, aid, assist;
contribute to, give a donation to, give money to, back, underwrite, subsidize, fund, finance, succour
North American informal bankroll
back, champion, give help to, help, assist, aid, be on the side of, side with, favour, prefer, abet, aid and abet, encourage;
vote for, ally oneself with, stand behind, fall in with, stand up for, defend, take someone's part, take up the cudgels for;
sponsor, vouch for, second, promote, endorse, sanction, approve of, give one's blessing to, smile on
informal stick up for, throw one's weight behind
2.1Provide with a home and the necessities of life: my main concern was to support my family...
- Men were dedicated to providing for and supporting their family and raising noteworthy children.
- Other countries have been perhaps more successful at striking a balance between economic necessities and supporting the family.
- All my life they have supported me and provided all the necessary things.
Synonyms
provide for, provide sustenance for, maintain, sustain, keep, take care of, look after
2.2Give approval, comfort, or encouragement to: the proposal was supported by many delegates...
- Your spouse is there to comfort and support you so depend on him or her a little.
- We will do our best to comfort and support them in every way while you do your duty.
- Your loving partner supports you through troubled waters.
Synonyms
give moral support to, give strength to, be a source of strength to, comfort, bring comfort to, sustain, encourage, buoy up, hearten, fortify, console, solace, give sympathy to, reassure, succour, soothe
informal buck up
advocate, promote, further, champion, back, be on the side of, espouse, espouse the cause of, be in favour of, recommend, defend, subscribe to
2.3Be actively interested in and concerned for the success of (a particular sports team): fans should always support their team fully, no matter what...
- The degree to which an alum or member goes out and actively supports the team or association is an important measure of active loyalty.
- Win or lose, we're always there, supporting the team.
- I've always supported the Indian team whenever they are here.
2.4 (as adjective supporting) (Of an actor or role) of secondary importance to the leading roles in a play or film: the production’s greatest successes are in the main supporting roles...
- Now she knows what she wants, her career has become secondary - thus her choice of supporting roles in ensemble films such as Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Full Frontal.
- He will soon be cast as a supporting actor in a film.
- Why do they have supporting actor categories for film, but not for television?
2.5(Of a pop or rock group or performer) function as a secondary act to (another) at a concert.
3Suggest the truth of; corroborate: the studies support our findings...
- This study supports several researchers who suggest using the neutral zone and no-touch technique to reduce the risk of injuries during surgical procedures.
- The data presented in the study supports this suggestion.
- These suggestions are indirectly supported by spinal microdialysis study.
Synonyms
substantiate, back up, give force to, give weight to, bear out, corroborate, confirm, attest to, verify, prove, validate, authenticate, endorse, ratify, document
4Produce enough food and water for; be capable of sustaining: the land had lost its capacity to support life...
- After all, a river that can hold huge carp and catfish should, in theory, have enough food to support some big barbel.
- Fed by upland streams, its brackish waters supported a wide variety of life.
- This could signal that Mars, a dry and cold planet, was once an environment friendly enough to support life.
5Endure; tolerate: at work during the day I could support the grief...
- Grief can be supported and facilitated, and depression can be treated.
Synonyms
endure, bear, put up with, tolerate, stand, abide, suffer, stomach, brook, sustain, shoulder, weather
6(Of a computer or operating system) allow the use or operation of (a program, language, or device): the new versions do not support the graphical user interface standard...
- The thing doesn't support Hyper-Threading in its current BIOS version.
- All Intel chipsets supporting 533MHz system bus do support Hyper-Threading.
- What's interesting about this is that the 3.06GHz Pentium 4 was the first P4 to officially support Hyper-Threading.
noun
1A thing that bears the weight of something or keeps it upright: the best support for a camera is a tripod...
- Officers called to the scene found the old-style red cast iron phone kiosk in smithereens with just the four corner upright supports still standing.
- The functional requirements of a toast-rack are far less stringent, and this is one of a series of designs in which Dresser plays with different geometrical possibilities for creating a row of upright supports.
- If it's a small target, like the upright supports of a bridge or the mouth of a cave, you need a bomb that will land within ten feet of where you aim it.
Synonyms
pillar, post, prop, underprop, underpinning, base, substructure, foundation;
brace, buttress, abutment, bolster, upright, stay, stand, trestle, crutch, plinth
1.1 [mass noun] The action of supporting something or someone or the state of being supported: she clutched the sideboard for support...
- He was leaning on the back of the sofa for support and wearing a satisfied smirk.
- Sheila found herself clutching the sideboard for support as a surge of vertigo threatened to overcome her.
- He seems none the worse for wear, despite momentarily leaning on his scythe for support.
2 [mass noun] Material assistance: the bank provided unstinting financial support air operations in support of British forces...
- She said positions at risk were mainly those of support staff and teaching assistants.
- As a result, it is short of sufficient financial and material support to develop any further.
- They have no back up system, no organisation to which they can turn to for support and financial assistance.
Synonyms
maintenance, keep, sustenance, subsistence;
food and accommodation
contributions, backing, donations, money, subsidy, funding, funds, finance, capital
backing, help, assistance, aid, votes, endorsement, sanction, approval, blessing, patronage
advocacy, backing, promotion, championship, espousal, defence, recommendation, recommending, argument for, arguing for
2.1Approval, encouragement, or comfort: the paper printed many letters in support of the government she’s been through a bad time and needs our support...
- Finally, I have contacted colleagues who were only too happy to give their support for this letter.
- The council said it had received 444 objections and seven letters of support for the application.
- He needs to do so to affirm popular and Congressional support for an arduous campaign.
Synonyms
moral support, friendship, strengthening, strength, encouragement, buoying up, heartening, fortification, consolation, solace, succour, relief, easement
informal bucking up
comfort, help, assistance, tower of strength, prop, backbone, mainstay
2.2Technical help given to the user of a computer or other product.In the area of technical helpdesk support, Fraser is also looking to win up to four new clients each year....
- It will be responsible for desktops, mail systems, network, intranet and website support.
- My main objection regarding Microsoft's whole licensing scheme is the lack of decent home user support.
3 [mass noun] Evidence that serves to corroborate something: the study provides support for both theories...
- Old evidence provides support only within the context of competition between hypotheses.
- The prosecution point principally but not solely to the telephone evidence as providing such support.
- Two independent lines of evidence provide support for our conclusion.
4A secondary act at a pop or rock concert: [as modifier]: a support band...
- Once the record was out, we started to do gigs as a support act to bands like A Certain Ratio and Inspiral Carpets.
- Roger hopes to arrange for local rock bands to play support during each Keighley concert.
- At least normally when the support band's dull you can chat or go to the bar.
Derivatives
supportability
- It's a fantastic opportunity for us to look at and learn about the aircraft's supportability and employability, certainly in hot conditions, and in humid conditions a long way from base.
- The reliability, maintainability, and supportability of systems, along with improved munitions, fuel efficiencies, and vehicle-produced potable water, are crucial to having a right-sized sustainment footprint.
- This article advocates that an afloat option has sufficient merit across the spectrum of readiness, responsiveness, supportability, and cost to make it the better choice over the land-basing strategy.
supportable
- The advice will probably be reasonably logical, supportable, and hard to dispute.
- The court said that although the government's effort to crack down on the evasion of active duty is supportable, the four defendants cannot be punished under the current law.
- All these things look well reasoned and supportable when doing the analysis.
supportably
supportingly
supportless
- According to officials, the parabolic curve dome, with its supportless span spread over 30 by 45 metres, is an architectural marvel.
- They work more and more often in the supportless phase and find interesting concluding elements.
- In routine tests, the gauges were pasted to the loading elements in order to avoid errors connected with supportless fracture under all loading conditions and for all types of impact testing machines.
Origin
Middle English (originally in the sense 'tolerate'): from Old French supporter, from Latin supportare, from sub- 'from below' + portare 'carry'.
Rhymes
- come up smiling
- come up with
- come up with (or deliver) the goods
- come what may
- comfily
- comfiness
- comfit
- comfort
- comfortable
- comfortableness
- comfortably
- comfort blanket
- comfort break
- comfort eating
- comforter
- comfort food
- comforting
- comfortingly
- comfortless
- comfort room
- comfort station
- comfort stop
- comfort zone
- comfrey
- comfy