means of sustaining health or life; nourishment means of maintenance; livelihood - Also: sustention /
səˈstɛnʃən/ the act or process of sustaining or the quality of being sustained
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
sus•te•nance /ˈsʌstənəns/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- the means of sustaining life;
nourishment. - the process of sustaining;
the state of being sustained.
sus•te•nance
(sus′tə nəns),USA pronunciation n.
sus′te•nance•less, adj.
- means of sustaining life;
nourishment. - means of livelihood.
- the process of sustaining.
- the state of being sustained.
- Anglo-French; Old French sostenance. See sustain, -ance
- Middle English sustena(u)nce 1250–1300
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'sustenance' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
-vorous
- aliment
- alimentary
- alimentation
- alimony
- bread
- bread and butter
- dependant
- food
- fuel
- hand-to-mouth
- livelihood
- living
- mendicant
- mouth
- nourishment
- self-sustenance
- strength
- subsist
- subsistence
- support
- sustentation
- victual