1. (

• support ,

) the activity of providing for or maintaining by supplying with money or necessities; "his support kept the family together"; "they gave him emotional support during difficult times" ;

2. (

• support

) aiding the cause or policy or interests of; "the president no longer has the support of his own party"; "they developed a scheme of mutual support" ;

3. (

• support

) something providing immaterial assistance to a person or cause or interest; "the policy found little public support"; "his faith was all the support he needed"; "the team enjoyed the support of their fans" ;

4. (

• support ,
• reinforcement ,
• reenforcement

) a military operation (often involving new supplies of men and materiel) to strengthen a military force or aid in the performance of its mission; "they called for artillery support" ;

5. (

• documentation ,
• support ,

) documentary validation; "his documentation of the results was excellent"; "the strongest support for this view is the work of Jones" ;

6. (

• support ,
• keep ,
• livelihood ,
• living ,
• bread_and_butter ,
• sustenance

) the financial means whereby one lives; "each child was expected to pay for their keep"; "he applied to the state for support"; "he could no longer earn his own livelihood" ;

7. (

• support ,

) supporting structure that holds up or provides a foundation; "the statue stood on a marble support" ;

8. (

• support ,
• supporting

) the act of bearing the weight of or strengthening; "he leaned against the wall for support" ;

9. (

• accompaniment ,
• musical_accompaniment ,
• backup ,
• support ,

) a musical part (vocal or instrumental) that supports or provides background for other musical parts ;

10. (

• support

) any device that bears the weight of another thing; "there was no place to attach supports for a shelf" ;

11. (

• support ,
• financial_support ,
• funding ,
• backing ,
• financial_backing

) financial resources provided to make some project possible; "the foundation provided support for the experiment" ;

1. (

• support ,
• back_up

) give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to; "She supported him during the illness"; "Her children always backed her up" ;

2. (

• support

) support materially or financially; "he does not support his natural children"; "The scholarship supported me when I was in college" ;

3. (

• back ,
• endorse ,
• indorse ,
• plump_for ,
• plunk_for ,
• support ,

) be behind; approve of; "He plumped for the Labor Party"; "I backed Kennedy in 1960" ;

4. (

• hold ,
• support ,
• sustain ,
• hold_up

) be the physical support of; carry the weight of; "The beam holds up the roof"; "He supported me with one hand while I balanced on the beam"; "What's holding that mirror?" ;

5. (

• confirm ,
• corroborate ,
• sustain ,
• substantiate ,
• support ,
• affirm

) establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; "his story confirmed my doubts"; "The evidence supports the defendant" ;

6. (

• subscribe ,
• support

) adopt as a belief; "I subscribe to your view on abortion" ;

7. (

• corroborate ,
• underpin ,
• bear_out ,
• support

) support with evidence or authority or make more certain or confirm; "The stories and claims were born out by the evidence" ;

8. (

• defend ,
• support ,
• fend_for

) argue or speak in defense of; "She supported the motion to strike" ;

9. (

• support

) play a subordinate role to (another performer); "Olivier supported Gielgud beautifully in the second act" ;

10. (

• patronize ,
• patronise ,
• patronage ,
• support ,
• keep_going

) be a regular customer or client of; "We patronize this store"; "Our sponsor kept our art studio going for as long as he could" ;

11. (

• digest ,
• endure ,
• stick_out ,
• stomach ,
• bear ,
• stand ,
• tolerate ,
• support ,
• brook ,
• abide ,
• suffer ,
• put_up

) put up with something or somebody unpleasant; "I cannot bear his constant criticism"; "The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks"; "he learned to tolerate the heat"; "She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage" ;