support

verb sup·port \ sə-ˈpȯrt \

|Updated on: 19 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: support in a Sentence

Definition of support

supported; supporting; supports

transitive verb

1 : to endure bravely or quietly : bear

2 a (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

3 a : 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

4 a : 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

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supportability

play \sə-ˌpȯr-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

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supportable

play \sə-ˈpȯr-tə-bəl\ adjective

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supportive

play \sə-ˈpȯr-tiv\ adjective

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supportiveness

play \sə-ˈpȯr-tiv-nəs\ noun

See support defined for English-language learners

See support defined for kids

Examples of support in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of support from the Web

Earlier Friday, four people were killed in an attack in southern Pakistan, in the city of Bannu, near a rally held for Akram Khan Durrani, a leader in the conservative Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party that supports the Afghan Taliban.

— shaiq hussain and antonio olivo, chicagotribune.com, "Pakistanis urge military to boost security after hundreds die in attacks before election," 14 July 2018
Related Video Your browser does not support HTML5 video.

— jenny gross, WSJ, "Trump Says May’s Brexit Plan Could ‘Kill’ Chances of U.S.-U.K. Trade Deal," 13 July 2018
Crazy as that sounds, there is a growing body of research that supports the idea.

— claudia wallis, Scientific American, "Extreme Flu? Weird Encephalitis? It May Be Your Genes," 13 July 2018
Or keep powering the city with fossil fuels while purchasing credits that support renewable energy elsewhere?

— justin worland/pueblo, Time, "How One Industrial City Is Fighting to Go Green," 12 July 2018
On the one side of the debate is much of the U.S. cooling industry, which supports what is called the Kigali Amendment, after the Rwandan city in which it was negotiated.

— dino grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Republicans can't agree on this climate deal brokered by Obama," 12 July 2018
Keith sent copies to every state representative and senator who did not yet support sensible limits to gun ownership.

— courant.com, "Keith and Audrey Dubay," 12 July 2018
The addition will mean Microsoft’s consoles join the Apple TV 4K and Google’s Chromecast Ultra as the only streaming devices that currently support both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

— tom warren, The Verge, "Xbox One is getting Dolby Vision support," 12 July 2018
Today, the team is testing a new iteration of its communications system, which could support 10 times as many users as its current setup.

— alex davies, WIRED, "Inside X, the Moonshot Factory Racing to Build the Next Google," 11 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.

Origin and Etymology of support

Middle English, from Anglo-French supporter, from Late Latin supportare, from Latin, to transport, from sub- + portare to carry — more at fare

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

support Synonyms

Phrases

bear a hand, to stand one in good stead;

Synonym Discussion of support

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

support

noun

Definition of support

1 a : 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

See support defined for English-language learners

Examples of support in a Sentence

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 of support from the Web

Bateson immediately threw her support behind Morse, and the pair attended a unity event in Roseville on June 18.

— emily cadei, sacbee, "Democrats push for unity in California House races after bruising primary," 13 July 2018
Winning the premiership against all odds was just something else and none of this would have been possible without your extraordinary support for me and the team.

— SI.com, "Riyad Mahrez Believes Pep Guardiola Can Lead Manchester City to UEFA Champions League Glory," 13 July 2018
Publishers questioned the business value of Franklin, and lost the patriotic intent that had inspired their support for Franklin early in the Cold War.

— amanda laugesen, Smithsonian, "This Cold War-Era Publishing House Wanted To Share American Values With the World," 13 July 2018
Their support may be put to the test in the coming year, as Wilcox talks about pursuing strategies that raise hackles among some educators.

— ann doss helms, charlotteobserver, "CMS leader has won fans among teachers. But these moves may test their loyalty.," 13 July 2018
Members of the powerful 1922 Committee of Tory MPs declared their support.

— The Economist, "What doesn’t kill her makes Theresa May stronger," 12 July 2018
Karvelis said teacher organizers threw their support toward the #InvestInEd campaign after the walkout.

— ricardo cano, azcentral, "Name-calling begins in battle over #InvestInEd ballot measure," 12 July 2018
An out-of-town friend lost her husband suddenly and has requested an alternative way for family and loved ones to show their support.

— Southern Living, "Manners in Times of Sorrow: Your Questions Answered," 12 July 2018
Portland gave the amendment its biggest per capita support, with the largest majorities in precincts inhabited by middle-class and skilled working-class voters.

— Longreads, "Oregon’s Racist Past," 12 July 2018

First Known Use of support

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

support Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

hindrance;

Near Antonyms

constraint, frustration, inhibition, interference, obstruction, repression, restraint;

deterrence, discouragement;

benefaction, patronage, promotion, sponsorship;

advice, care, counsel, guidance, mentoring;

attendance, attention, hand-holding, service;

assuagement, palliation, relief, succor;

Financial Definition of SUPPORT

support

noun

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 Defined for English Language Learners

support

verb

Definition of support for English Language Learners

: 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

Definition of support for English Language Learners

: 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

SUPPORT Defined for Kids

support

verb sup·port \ sə-ˈpȯrt \

Definition of support for Students

supported; supporting

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.

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supporter

noun

support

noun

Definition of support for Students

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

2 : someone or something that supports

Medical Dictionary

support

transitive verb sup·port \ sə-ˈpō(ə)rt, -ˈpȯ(ə)rt \

medical Definition of support

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

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

respiratory support

2 : supporter

Law Dictionary

support

transitive verb sup·port

legal Definition of support

1 a : 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

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