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support Definition

sup·port (sə pôrt′)

transitive verb

    1. to carry or bear the weight of; keep from falling, slipping or sinking; hold up
    2. to carry or bear (a specified weight, strain, pressure, etc.)
  2. to give courage, faith, or confidence to; help or comfort
  3. to give approval to or be in favor of; subscribe to; uphold
  4. to maintain or provide for (a person, institution, etc.) with money, or subsistence
  5. to show or tend to show to be true; help prove, vindicate, or corroborate evidence to support a claim
  6. to bear; endure; submit to; tolerate
  7. to keep up; maintain; sustain; specif., to maintain (the price of a specified commodity) as by government purchase of surpluses
  8. Comput. to be compatible with
  9. Theater to act a subordinate role in the same play with (a specified star)

Etymology: ME supporten < MFr supporter < LL(Ec) supportare, to endure, bear < L, to carry, bring to a place < sub-, sub- + portare, to carry: see port

noun

  1. a supporting or being supported
  2. a person or thing that supports; specif.,
    1. a prop, base, brace, etc.
    2. a means of subsistence
    3. an elastic, girdlelike device to support or bind a part of the body
    4. maintenance and service, as for a computer system's software or hardware technical support

adjective

providing or having to do with support support staff for a company's computer system

support Related Forms
sup·port′·able adjective sup·port′·ably adverb
support Synonyms

support

n.

  1. Aid

    help, assistance, comfort; see aid 1.

  2. A reinforcement

    lining, concrete block, rib, stilt, stay, shore, supporter, buttress, pole, post, underpinning, dependence, prop, guide, backing, stiffener, flotation, collar, rampart, abutment, stave, stake, rod, pillar, column, timber; see also brace 1.

  3. Financial aid

    maintenance, living, provision, livelihood, subsidy, subsistence, upkeep, care, relief, allowance, sustenance, alimentation, alimony, responsibility for; see also payment 1.

  4. One who provides support

    backer, provider, second, preserver; see patron 1, supporter.

in support of

approving, condoning, in favor of, in defense of; see supporting.

support Synonyms

support

v.

  1. To hold up from beneath

    prop, hold up, keep up, bolster up, shore up, bear up, bolster, buttress, brace, sustain, shore, stay, mainstay, underpin, undergird, keep from falling, shoulder, carry, bear, be a foundation for.

    Antonyms drop*, let fall, break down. *

  2. To uphold

    uphold, maintain, sustain, back, back up, abet, aid, assist, help, bolster, stay, comfort, carry, bear out, hold, foster, shoulder, corroborate, cheer, establish, buoy, put forward, promote, advance, champion, advocate, countenance, approve, throw in with, stick by, stand behind, cast in on, substantiate, lot with, verify, get back of, stick up for, go to bat for*, confirm, further, encourage, hearten, strengthen, second, preserve, recommend, take care of, stand in with, pull for, agree with, stand up for, keep up, stand back of, take the part of, rally round, give a lift to*, boost*.

    Antonyms hinder*, discourage*, deter. *

  3. To defend

    second, stand by, plead for; see defend 3.

  4. To continue

    carry on, keep up, maintain; see continue 1.

  5. To provide for

    take care of, keep an eye on, care for, attend to, look after, back, bring up, sponsor, underwrite, put up the money for, set up in business, finance, pay for, subsidize, guard, chaperon, nurse, pay the expenses of, grubstake*, stake*, bank-roll*, raise*, bring home the bacon*, earn one's keep*; see also sustain 2.

    Antonyms abandon*, ignore*, fail.

support, the broadest of these terms, suggests a favoring of someone or something, either by giving active aid or merely by approving or sanctioning to support a candidate for office; uphold suggests that what is being supported is under attack to uphold civil rights for all; sustain implies full active support so as to strengthen or keep from failing sustained by his hope for the future; maintain suggests a supporting so as to keep intact or unimpaired to maintain the law, a family, etc.; advocate implies support in speech or writing and sometimes connotes persuasion or argument to advocate a change in policy; back (often back up) suggests support, as financial aid or moral encouragement, given to prevent failure I'll back you up in your demands

support Finance Definition
A technical analysis term that indicates a level that prices will have difficulty moving below. Support is said to help stop prices from declining.
support Usage Examples

Object

  • development: Infrastructure: The basic services needed to support development.

Converse of object

  • provide: The Supplier provides support on a " best endeavors " basis.
  • receive: For two months, the people of Warsaw fought the Germans in an uprising that should have received the support of the Allies.
  • offer: Where appropriate, centers can offer support for work experience.
  • give: He says the little government support given to support his sector of design is being cut back.
  • seek: Donors are entitled to accurate information about the charitable organizations that seek support.
  • gain: COSE has continued to gain support from the JISC in its work on interoperability.

Adjective modifier

  • financial: Obviously, the more financial support we receive from rabbit lovers, the more vital, humane, research projects we can pay for.
  • technical: Expert technical support is available 24/7 365 days a year, online via the Help Assistant.
  • continued: Staff nominated Richard for the volunteering award to say thank you for his continued support.
  • additional: The Student Support Officer also provided access to virus and spyware protection for students, and additional personal support for any serious difficulties.
  • administrative: Hannah works alongside Kate in providing administrative support for all aspects of property purchases and the formation of syndicates.
  • ongoing: You will receive training and ongoing support to equip you for the role.

Modifies a noun

  • staff: In addition, we also employ support staff in a wide variety of roles.
  • service: Most local councils have established support services for people wishing to use direct payments.
  • worker: Professionals, ranging from project co-ordinators, development workers, and support workers also participated.
  • group: To find out, PN attended a support group in Birmingham.
  • network: The National Reading Campaign has been commissioned by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to provide an online support network for the fund.

Noun used with modifier

  • peer: I will continue to give whatever support I can with the newsletter and peer support for HIV+ people.
  • income: Wal-Mart's wages are well below the American average for the industry with many of their employees claiming the equivalent of our income support.
support Quotes

Tonightöto you, the great silent majority of my fellow AmericansöI ask for your support.

—Nixon, Richard M(ilhous)

I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility, and to discharge my duties as King as I would wish, without the help and support of the woman I love.

—Edward VIII

   Science is intimately integrated with the whole social structure and cultural tradition. They mutually support one anotheröonly in certain types of society can science flourish, and conversely without a continuous and healthy development and application of science such a society cannot function properly.

—Parry, Sir Charles Hubert Hastings

An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support.

—Buchan,John, 1st BaronTweedsmuir

I can imagine no length of resistance to which Ulster can go in which I should not be prepared to support them, and in which, in my belief, they would not be supported by the overwhelming majority of the British people.

—Law, (Andrew) Bonar

If you are ever at a loss to support a flagging conversation, introduce the subject of eating.

—Hunt, (James Henry) Leigh

Prose books are the show dogs I breed and sell to support my cat.

—Graves, Robert von Ranke

Politicians use statistics in the same way that a drunk uses lamp-postsöfor support rather than illumination.

—Lang, Andrew

One is never weaker than when one appears to have everybody's support.

—Ollivier, EŁ  mile

And chiefly thou O spirit, that does prefer Before all temples th'upright heart and pure, Instruct me, for thou know'st; thou from the first Wast present, and with mighty wings outspread Dove-like sat'st brooding on the vast abyss And mad'st it pregnant: what in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; That to the highth of this great argument I mayassert Eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men. 580

—Milton,John

The capital is become an overgrown monster; which, like a dropsical head, will in time leave the body and extremities without nourishment and support.

—Smollett,Tobias George