support

verb

sup·port | \sə-ˈpȯrt

supported; supporting; supports

Definition of support

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to endure bravely or quietly : bear

2a(1) : to promote the interests or cause of

(2) : to uphold or defend as valid or right : advocate supports fair play

(3) : to argue or vote for supported the motion to lower taxes

b(1) : assist, help bombers supported the ground troops

(2) : to act with (a star actor)

(3) : to bid in bridge so as to show support for

c : to provide with substantiation : corroborate support an alibi

3a : to pay the costs of : maintain support a family

b : to provide a basis for the existence or subsistence of the island could probably support three— A. B. C. Whipple support a habit

4a : to hold up or serve as a foundation or prop for

b : to maintain (a price) at a desired level by purchases or loans also : to maintain the price of by purchases or loans

5 : to keep from fainting, yielding, or losing courage : comfort

6 : to keep (something) going

support

noun

Definition of support (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : the act or process of supporting : the condition of being supported

b : assistance provided by a company to users of its products customer support

2 : one that supports —often used attributively a support staff

3 : sufficient strength in a suit bid by one's partner in bridge to justify raising the suit

Other Words from support Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about support

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Other Words from support

Verb

supportability \sə-ˌpȯr-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē

\ noun

supportable \sə-ˈpȯr-tə-bəl

\ adjective

supportive \sə-ˈpȯr-tiv

\ adjective

supportiveness \sə-ˈpȯr-tiv-nəs

\ noun

Synonyms & Antonyms for support

Synonyms: Verb

abet, aid, assist, back, backstop, help, prop (up)

Synonyms: Noun

abetment, aid, assist, assistance, backing, boost, hand, help, helping hand, leg up, lift

Antonyms: Verb

hinder

Antonyms: Noun

hindrance

Choose the Right Synonym for support

Verb

support, uphold, advocate, back, champion mean to favor actively one that meets opposition. support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given. supports waterfront development uphold implies extended support given to something attacked. upheld the legitimacy of the military action advocate stresses urging or pleading. advocated prison reform back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling. refusing to back the call for sanctions champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause. championed the rights of children

Examples of support in a Sentence

Verb

I completely support your decision to stay. She no longer supports the war. The senator says that he supports the proposed legislation. Which presidential candidate do you support? The study is supported by the American Medical Association. The country's citizens were asked to support the war effort. Her friends supported her by signing her petition. The charity supports needy families. Bombers were called in to support the ground troops. The planet's atmosphere cannot support human life.

Noun

The team gets a lot of support from its fans. I'd like to thank my parents for all of their love and support over the years. He depended on his wife for emotional support. He applied for financial support from the state. the company's friendly support staff Inspectors found that some of the bridge's supports were weak. She used my arm as a support and limped to the chair. These sneakers are designed to give your feet extra support.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

With this record, Dinklage surpasses Ed Begley, Jr., Jimmy Smits, Will Geer, and Bruce Weitz, who have all been nominated for supporting actor in a drama series six times. — Rebecca Farley, refinery29.com, "Game Of Thrones Quietly Broke An Emmy Record Yesterday," 13 July 2018 Only one of this year's categories, supporting actor in a drama, lacked any performers of color. — Lynn Elber, chicagotribune.com, "Emmy diversity gets a boost from Ricky Martin, Issa Rae," 13 July 2018 The senators supported the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett, a former Notre Dame law professor, to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. — Becky Jacobs, Post-Tribune, "Hammond federal judge Rudy Lozano, 76, dies," 13 July 2018 The outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or a movie category additionally brought attention to actors of color. — Anita Bennett, Fortune, "Diversity Takes Center Stage at 2018 Emmy Nominations," 12 July 2018 In Southern California, many white Catholics supported the Klan. — Longreads, "Oregon’s Racist Past," 12 July 2018 The Seskins have also supported graduate student housing, counseling programs and funds for reservists who have lost academic time while serving in the Israel Defense Forces . — Sergio Carmona, Jewish Journal, "Boca Raton resident receives honorary fellowship from Technion," 11 July 2018 The City Council could take an informal vote Monday on whether to support bringing the Republican National Convention to the city in 2020. — Jim Morrill And Steve Harrison, charlotteobserver, "Charlotte is close to winning the 2020 GOP convention, Wall Street Journal reports," 10 July 2018 However, a large body of research in the field supports several other possible evolutionary drivers for snazzy stripes. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, "Settling a Heated Debate—Do Zebra Stripes Keep These Animals Cool?," 10 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Hillary Clinton, then the U.S. Secretary of State, lent the support of the American government, promising money and the resources of a handful of agencies. — Sara Morrison, USA TODAY, "In developing world, an expensive push to reduce cooking fire deaths falls short," 13 July 2018 Fortunately, with the support of more than 40 medical professional organizations, U.S. lawmakers are moving towards a change. — Melissa Stein, STAT, "Privacy laws are hurting the care of patients with addiction," 13 July 2018 Like goal line technology, VAR will take time to perfect and gain the support of its critics. — SI.com, "Why VAR is a Step in the Right Direction for Football Despite the Continued Scrutiny," 12 July 2018 Environmentalists say the artificial supports provided to the sugar industry in the 2018 Farm Bill encourage mass production of sugarcane in the Everglades Agricultural Area. — David Smiley And Mary Ellen Klas, miamiherald, "Florida’s politicians use slimy algae to muddy each other," 11 July 2018 That meant the supports open to most first-year teachers weren’t initially available to him. — Philly.com, "A former drug dealer made good and became a Philly teacher. So why is he thinking of leaving the profession?," 11 July 2018 The Milwaukee Journal's Billy Sixty reported on July 2, 1967, that a group of businessmen had gained the support of the Professional Golfers' Association of America to hold a men's professional open golf tournament in Milwaukee in 1968. — Chris Foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The first Greater Milwaukee Open PGA golf tournament, in 1968, also was nearly the last," 10 July 2018 But despite Bancor’s highly successful fundraising effort last July, which enjoyed the support of billionaire Tim Draper, many remained skeptical of its premise and the price of BNT tokens fell. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, "Another Crypto Fail: Hackers Steal $23.5 Million from Token Service Bancor," 9 July 2018 Of course, the positive support has been pouring in from around the internet with many Twitter users praising both the athlete and ASOS for creating the inclusive jumpsuit. — Marina Liao, Marie Claire, "ASOS Launched a Wheelchair-Friendly Jumpsuit and the Internet Is All About It," 6 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'support.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near support

supply-side

supply-side economics

Phrases Related to support

technical/tech support

visible means of support

Statistics for support

Last Updated

13 Oct 2018

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for support

The first known use of support was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for support

support

noun

Financial Definition of support

What It Is

In technical trading analysis, support is a lower limit in a price channel in which a security’s price tends to stay.

How It Works

Price channels can slope up (indicating bullish sentiment) or down (indicating bearish sentiment); they don’t have to simply go “sideways.” The important geometric characteristic is that the resistance lines (which are the opposite of support lines; they are the upper limits of the price channel) and support lines are parallel, as shown in this price channel for ChevronTexaco (CVX). The channel lines themselves are often based on multiday moving averages or logarithmic scales that reflect price movements in percentage terms. However, technical trading is as much an art as it is a science, and so one technical trader’s price channel might be different from another’s.

When a stock’s price touches or goes below the support, this may signal a trend change, which is why the support level is very important to technical traders.

Why It Matters

Price channels help tip traders off about trend changes in a stock or "unusual" activity when the price goes above or below the price channel lines (we call this a breakout). For example, a technical trader might buy when a stock hits the support level of an upward-sloping price channel; similarly, traders hope to be already out of a stock before it hits the support level on a downward-sloping price channel.

Source: Investing Answers

support

verb

English Language Learners Definition of support

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to agree with or approve of (someone or something)

: to show that you approve of (someone or something) by doing something

: to give help or assistance to (someone or something)

support

noun

English Language Learners Definition of support (Entry 2 of 2)

: the act of showing that you believe that someone or something is good or acceptable : approval of someone or something

: the act of helping someone by giving love, encouragement, etc.

: help that is given in the form of money or other valuable things

See the full definition for support in the English Language Learners Dictionary

support

verb

sup·port | \sə-ˈpȯrt

supported; supporting

Kids Definition of support

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to hold up or in position : serve as a foundation or prop for Posts support the porch roof.

2 : to take sides with : favor Which candidate do you support?

3 : to provide evidence for : verify They cannot support this claim.

4 : to pay the costs of : maintain His income supports a large family.

5 : to keep going : sustain There is not enough air to support life.

6 : to provide help or encouragement to My friends supported me while I was sick.

support

noun

Kids Definition of support (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the act of supporting : the condition of being supported

2 : someone or something that supports

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support

transitive verb

sup·port | \sə-ˈpō(ə)rt, -ˈpȯ(ə)rt

Medical Definition of support

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to hold up or serve as a foundation or prop for

2 : to maintain in condition, action, or existence support respiration support life

support

noun

Medical Definition of support (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the act or process of supporting : the condition of being supported respiratory support

2 : supporter

support

transitive verb

sup·port

Legal Definition of support

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : to promote the interests or cause of

b : to uphold or defend as valid or right

c : to argue or vote for

2 : to provide with substantiation or corroboration support an alibi

3 : to provide with the means of livelihood (as housing, food, or clothing) especially in accordance with an agreement or court order

4 : to hold up or in position : maintain the physical integrity of the right to have one's land supported by the underlying land

support

noun

Legal Definition of support (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the act or process of supporting : the condition of being supported pledged the candidate their support

2 : a means of obtaining the necessities of life (as food, shelter, and clothing) : a source of livelihood especially in the form of alimony or child support

3 : something that provides support