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 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

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

Brandon showed up to support his wife wearing a simple navy suit jacket and black pants. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "Kelly Clarkson and Her Husband Made a Rare Red Carpet Appearance With All of Their Kids," 29 Apr. 2019 Earlier this week, the couple walked the red carpet for the Avengers: Endgame premiere to support Liam's older brother Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in Marvel's latest film. — Nicole Saunders, Harper's BAZAAR, "Miley Cyrus Is "Freakishly Obsessed" with Liam Hemsworth and So Are We TBH," 26 Apr. 2019 And HyperSense achieves it all by simply reading the low-frequency range of your audio, so game developers don’t need to work to support the technology. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "6 important CES 2019 reveals and trends that PC enthusiasts need to know about," 11 Jan. 2019 By the end, 40 members of Congress — including several notable senators like Booker, Sanders, and Jeff Merkley, each a potential 2020 presidential candidate — signed on to support the committee. — David Roberts, Vox, "The Green New Deal, explained," 21 Dec. 2018 If that sounds medieval in its horror, then meet the crusaders: In February, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Edward Markey presented a Green New Deal resolution to help support change. — Cotton Codinha, Allure, "7 Influential People on Environmental Advocacy in the Beauty Industry," 22 Apr. 2019 Almased also helps the body stay full for hours and supports healthy blood sugar levels. — Woman's Day, "It’s Possible – Boost Your Metabolism!," 12 Mar. 2019 The money was used to finance Jammeh’s lavish lifestyle and is believed to still support him in his exile in Equatorial Guinea, the investigative group said. — Abdoulie John, The Seattle Times, "Inquiry into Gambia’s ex-president submits findings report," 29 Mar. 2019 Doing this work requires a lot of thought, planning, and conservation alongside the youth workers Michelle Hurter and Michelle Roberts who have supported us so much! — Laird Borrelli-persson, Vogue, "“It’s Called Ffasiwn” Is a Photography Exhibition That Challenges Assumptions About Status and Style," 25 Mar. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

According to FlexJobs, a virtual assistant often works for businesses or entrepreneurs, handling a variety of tasks, from customer support, to administrative tasks, to social media management. — Jamie Ballard, Woman's Day, "How to Become a Virtual Assistant So You Can Work From Home," 7 May 2019 Josephine chatted with Teen Vogue about the romantic drama, support from the fandom, and more. — Gabe Bergado, Teen Vogue, "Josephine Langford on the Romance of "After," Bringing to Life Tessa, and Crying Fans," 22 Apr. 2019 As an expeditionary force, the U.S. Marine Corps is expected to operate in distant, faraway places with little support from the other services. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Watch a Marine Corps Helicopter Lift Another Marine Helicopter," 15 Apr. 2019 But there were still bills to pay and appearances to keep up, and this could be done only with some private support from the Queen. — David Mcclure, Town & Country, "How Queen Elizabeth's Fortune Is Divided Among the Members of the Royal Family," 16 Feb. 2019 Her announcement was met with a wave of support from fans, who offered sympathy, prayers, and other words of encouragement in the comments section of her post. — Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, "American Idol's Lauren Alaina Calls Off Engagement to Longtime Boyfriend Alex Hopkins," 22 Jan. 2019 The app ecosystem is dying, too, with little support from Google or third parties. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "Our favorite (and least favorite) tech of 2018," 26 Dec. 2018 Regardless, the rest of her Hope Valley family will always be there for support. — Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, "'When Calls the Heart' Star Erin Krakow Posts Cryptic Message After Lori Loughlin's College Scandal," 9 Apr. 2019 Other celebs have also voiced their support of Ellen and the hotel boycott on social media like George Clooney, Ellen Pompeo, Elton John, and Bobby Berk. — Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, "Ellen DeGeneres Calls On Fans to Boycott These Famous Hotels," 3 Apr. 2019

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

Statistics for support

Last Updated

12 May 2019

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