support

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To bear the weight of, especially from below.
2. v. To hold in position so as to keep from falling, sinking, or slipping.
3. v. To be capable of bearing; withstand: "His flaw'd heart . . . too weak the conflict to support” ( Shakespeare).
4. v. To keep from weakening or failing; strengthen: The letter supported him in his grief.
5. v. To provide for or maintain, by supplying with money or necessities.
6. v. To furnish corroborating evidence for: New facts supported her story.
7. v. To aid the cause, policy, or interests of: supported her in her election campaign.
8. v. To argue in favor of; advocate: supported lower taxes.
9. v. To endure; tolerate: "At supper there was such a conflux of company that I could scarcely support the tumult” ( Samuel Johnson).
10. v. To act in a secondary or subordinate role to (a leading performer).
11. n. The act of supporting.
12. n. The state of being supported.
13. n. One that supports.
14. n. Maintenance, as of a family, with the necessities of life.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To bear; prop up; bear the weight of; uphold; sustain; keep from falling or sinking.
2. To endure without being overcome; bear; undergo; also, to tolerate.
3. To uphold by aid, encouragement, or countenance; keep from shrinking, sinking, failing, or fainting: as, to support the courage or spirits.
4. Theat.: To represent in acting on or as on the stage; keep up; act: as, to support the part assigned.
5. To act with, accompany, or second a leading actor or actress.
6. In music, to perform an accompaniment or subordinate part to.
7. To keep up; carry on; maintain: as, to support a contest.
8. To supply funds or means for: as, to support the expenses of government; maintain with the necessary means of living; furnish with a livelihood: as, to support a family.
9. To keep from failing or fainting by means of food; sustain: as, to support life; to support the strength by nourishment.
10. To keep up in reputation; maintain: as, to support a good character; sustain; substantiate; verify: as, the testimony fails to support the charges.
11. To assist in general; help; second; further; forward: as, to support a friend, a party, or a policy; specifically, military, to aid by being in line and ready to take part with in attack or defense: as, the regiment supported a battery.
12. To vindicate; defend successfully: as, to support a verdict or judgment.
13. To accompany or attend as an honorary coadjutor or aid; act as the aid or attendant of: as, the chairman was supported by …
14. To speak in support or advocacy of, as a motion at a public meeting.
15. In heraldry, to accompany or be grouped with (an escutcheon) as one of the supporters.
16. = Syn. 10. To countenance, patronize, back, abet. See support, n.
17. To live; get a livelihood.
18. n. The act or operation of supporting, upholding, sustaining, or keeping from falling; sustaining power or effect.
19. n. That which upholds, sustains, or keeps from falling; that, on which another thing is placed or rests; a prop, pillar, base, or basis; a foundation of any kind.
20. n. That which maintains life; subsistence; sustenance.
21. n. One who or that which maintains a person or family; means of subsistence or livelihood: as, fishing is their support; he is the only support of his mother.
22. n. The act of upholding, maintaining, assisting, forwarding, etc.; countenance; advocacy: as, to speak in support of a measure.
23. n. The keeping up or sustaining of anything without suffering it to fail, decline, be exhausted, or come to an end: as, the support of life or strength; the support of credit.
24. n. That which upholds or relieves; aid; help; succor; relief; encouragement.
25. n. Theat., an actor or actress who plays a subordinate or minor part with a star; also, the whole company collectively as supporting the principal actors.
26. n. pl. Milit., the second line in a battle, either in the attack or in the defense.
27. n. In music, an accompaniment; also, a subordinate; part.
28. n. The reasonable supply of the necessaries and comforts of life: as, intoxication of a husband injuring the wife's rights of support.
29. n. Synonyms Stay, strut, brace, shore.
30. n. Maintenance, etc. See living.
31. n. Encouragement, patronage, comfort.
32. n. plural In the cloth trade, blocking-boards or wrapping-boards.

Wiktionary

1. n. Something which supports. Often used attributively, as a complement or supplement to.
2. n. Financial or other help.
3. n. Answers to questions and resolution of problems regarding something sold.
4. n. mathematics in relation to a function, the set of points where the function is not zero, or the closure of that set.
5. n. A set whose elements are at least partially included in a given fuzzy set (i.e., whose grade of membership in that fuzzy set is strictly greater than zero).
6. v. transitive To keep from falling.
7. v. transitive To answer questions and resolve problems regarding something sold.
8. v. transitive To back a cause, party etc. mentally or with concrete aid.
9. v. transitive To help, particularly financially.
10. v. transitive To serve, as in a customer-oriented mindset; to give support to.
11. v. transitive To be accountable for, or involved with, but not responsible for.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To bear by being under; to keep from falling; to uphold; to sustain, in a literal or physical sense; to prop up; to bear the weight of
2. v. To endure without being overcome, exhausted, or changed in character; to sustain.
3. v. To keep from failing or sinking; to solace under affictive circumstances; to assist; to encourage; to defend.
4. v. To assume and carry successfully, as the part of an actor; to represent or act; to sustain.
5. v. To furnish with the means of sustenance or livelihood; to maintain; to provide for
6. v. To carry on; to enable to continue; to maintain.
7. v. To verify; to make good; to substantiate; to establish; to sustain
8. v. To vindicate; to maintain; to defend successfully.
9. v. To uphold by aid or countenance; to aid; to help; to back up
10. v. A attend as an honorary assistant
11. n. The act, state, or operation of supporting, upholding, or sustaining.
12. n. That which upholds, sustains, or keeps from falling, as a prop, a pillar, or a foundation of any kind.
13. n. That which maintains or preserves from being overcome, falling, yielding, sinking, giving way, or the like; subsistence; maintenance; assistance; reënforcement

WordNet 3.0

1. n. the act of bearing the weight of or strengthening
2. v. support with evidence or authority or make more certain or confirm
3. v. play a subordinate role to (another performer)
4. n. supporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation
5. v. give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to
6. n. documentary validation
7. v. establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
8. v. be a regular customer or client of
9. v. put up with something or somebody unpleasant
10. v. be behind; approve of
11. v. argue or speak in defense of
12. n. a military operation (often involving new supplies of men and materiel) to strengthen a military force or aid in the performance of its mission
13. v. support materially or financially
14. n. a musical part (vocal or instrumental) that supports or provides background for other musical parts
15. n. any device that bears the weight of another thing
16. n. financial resources provided to make some project possible
17. v. adopt as a belief
18. v. be the physical support of; carry the weight of
19. n. aiding the cause or policy or interests of
20. n. something providing immaterial assistance to a person or cause or interest
21. n. the financial means whereby one lives
22. n. the activity of providing for or maintaining by supplying with money or necessities