support

See also: Support

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /səˈpɔːt/, [səˈpʰɔːt]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /səˈpɔɹt/, [səˈpʰɔɹt], [səˈpʰoɹt]
• (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /səˈpo(ː)ɹt/
• (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /səˈpoət/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)t
• Hyphenation: sup‧port

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English supporten, from Old French supporter, from Latin supportō.

Verb

support (third-person singular simple present supports, present participle supporting, simple past and past participle supported)

2. (transitive) To help keep from falling.

   Synonyms: bear, bestand, hold up, stut, undergird, underprop, upbear, upgird, uphold

   Don’t move that beam! It supports the whole platform.

   He staggered away from the accident site, supported by one friend on each side.

   • 1995, Nancy Berliner, Sarah Handler, Friends of the House‎^[1], →ISBN, page 79:

     There is a soft-mat seat (which originally had a palm fiber underwebbing) supported by three curved transverse braces.

   • 2000, Field & Stream, volume 105, number 6, page 87:

     One of the keys to glassing effectively is supporting your binoculars. Advanced glassers who scan lots of country for long periods of time, or who use binoculars of 10X power or more, often use a lightweight camera tripod […]

4. (transitive) To back or favor a cause, party, etc., mentally or with concrete aid.

   Antonym: oppose

   I support France in the World Cup.

5. (transitive) To help, particularly financially; to subsidize.

   The government supports the arts in several ways.

   • 2020 April 14, “Beaten into a Coma for My Faith, Recovered Without Medical Treatment”, in Minghui‎^[2]:

     I said I shouldn’t support anything that deceives people.

   • 2023 August 2, Ben Tinker, Meg Tirrell and Brenda Goodman, “New director named at National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases after Fauci’s retirement”, in CNN‎^[3]:

     The NIAID supports projects at universities and research organizations around the United States as well as a network of 21 NIAID labs across the country.

6. (transitive) To provide evidence for; to lend credibility to.

   Synonyms: attest, corroborate, establish, substantiate, sustain, verify

   The testimony is not sufficient to support the charges.

   The evidence will not support the statements or allegations.

   • 1754, Jonathan Edwards, The Freedom of the Will:

     to urge such arguments, as though they were sufficient to support and demonstrate a whole scheme of moral philosophy

7. (transitive) To serve, as in a customer-oriented position; to give support to.

   The IT Department supports the research organization, but not the sales force.

8. (transitive) To assist or be involved with, but not be responsible for.

   I support the administrative activities of the executive branch of the organization.

   I don't make decisions, but I support those who do.

9. (transitive) To answer questions and resolve problems regarding something sold.

   Sure they sell the product, but do they support it?

10. (transitive, said of electronic devices, programming languages, etc.) To be designed to provide capacity for; to work or be compatible with (a part, accessory, file type, program, algorithm, etc.).

    Synonyms: accommodate, enable, play, run

    Early personal computers did not support voice-recognition hardware or software.

11. (transitive, archaic) To endure without being overcome; bear; undergo; tolerate.
    • 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):

      This fierce demeanour and his insolence / The patience of a god could not support.

    • 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:

      For a strong affection such moments are worth supporting, and they will end well; for your advocate is in your lover's heart and speaks her own language […]

12. (transitive) To play a lesser part in the same production with (a star performer).

    to support the character of King Lear

    And the award for best supporting actress goes to...

Conjugation

Conjugation of support

infinitive	(to) support
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	support	supported
2nd-person singular	support, supportest†	supported, supportedst†
3rd-person singular	supports, supporteth†	supported
plural	support
subjunctive	support	supported
imperative	support	—
participles	supporting	supported

^†Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

• supportable
• supported
• supportive

Translations

to keep from falling

• Afrikaans: steun (af), ondersteun (af), stut
• Arabic: دَعَمَ (daʕama), دَعَّمَ (daʕʕama)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Aromanian: ndrupãscu, ndoapir, aradzim, acumsescu
• Belarusian: падтры́мліваць impf (padtrýmlivacʹ), падтрыма́ць pf (padtrymácʹ)
• Bulgarian: подпирам (bg) (podpiram)
• Catalan: sostenir (ca), recolzar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 支持 (zh) (zhīchí), 支撑 (zh) (zhīchēng)

• Czech: podpírat
• Danish: støtte
• Dutch: steunen (nl), ondersteunen (nl)
• Esperanto: subteni, apogi (eo)
• Finnish: tukea (fi), kannattaa (fi), pönkittää (fi), kannatella (fi)
• French: soutenir (fr),supporter (fr)
• Georgian: მხარდაჭერა (mxardač̣era), შეშველება (šešveleba)
• German: unterstützen (de), stützen (de), halten (de), tragen (de)
• Greek: ενισχύω (el) (enischýo)

  Ancient: ἐρείδω (ereídō)

• Haitian Creole: sipòte
• Hawaiian: hāpai
• Hungarian: támaszt (hu), alátámaszt (hu)
• Ido: apogar (io)
• Indonesian: menyangga (id), menopang (id)
• Irish: iompair

  Old Irish: fo·loing

• Italian: appoggiare (it), supportare (it)
• Japanese: 支える (ja) (ささえる, sasaeru), 支持する (しじする, shiji suru)
• Kabuverdianu: apoia, apoiá
• Khmer: គាំ (km) (kŏəm), ទល់ (km) (tŭəl), ផ្អប (km) (phʼɑɑp)
• Kyrgyz: тирөө (ky) (tiröö)
• Latin: fulciō, tueor, supersum (la)
• Lombard: poggia
• Malayalam: താങ്ങുക (ml) (tāṅṅuka)
• Maori: tautītī, taunaki
• Mongolian: тулах (mn) (tulax)
• Old English: wreþian, beran
• Ottoman Turkish: طیامق (dayamak)
• Polish: wspierać (pl)
• Portuguese: apoiar (pt)
• Quechua: q'imiy
• Romanian: susține (ro), sprijini (ro), propti (ro)
• Russian: подде́рживать (ru) impf (poddérživatʹ), поддержа́ть (ru) pf (podderžátʹ)
• Sanskrit: यच्छति (sa) (yacchati)
• Spanish: apoyar (es), sostener (es), apuntalar (es), suportar (es)
• Swedish: stötta (sv), stödja (sv), bära upp
• Thai: หนุน (th) (nǔn)
• Turkish: destek olmak (tr), desteklemek (tr)
• Tày: cặm
• Ukrainian: підтри́мувати impf (pidtrýmuvaty), підтри́мати pf (pidtrýmaty), підде́ржувати impf (piddéržuvaty), підде́ржати pf (piddéržaty)
• Vietnamese: chống (vi)

to provide help regarding something sold

• Afrikaans: ondersteun (af)
• Bulgarian: поддържам (bg) (poddǎržam)
• Czech: podporovat (cs)
• Finnish: tukea (fi), olla asiakastuki
• German: Support bieten, betreuen (de), unterstützen (de)
• Japanese: 対応する (ja) (たいおうする, tai suru)
• Latin: supersum (la)
• Portuguese: dar suporte
• Russian: подде́рживать (ru) impf (poddérživatʹ), поддержа́ть (ru) pf (podderžátʹ)
• Spanish: dar soporte

to back a cause, party, etc., mentally or with concrete aid

• Afrikaans: ondersteun (af)
• Arabic: أَيَّدَ (ʔayyada), دَعَمَ (daʕama)
• Azerbaijani: dəstəkləmək
• Belarusian: падтры́мліваць impf (padtrýmlivacʹ), падтрыма́ць pf (padtrymácʹ)
• Bulgarian: поддъ́ржам (bg) impf (poddǎ́ržam)
• Catalan: suportar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 支持 (zh) (zhīchí)

• Czech: podporovat (cs) impf, podpořit (cs) pf
• Danish: støtte
• Dutch: steunen (nl)
• Esperanto: subteni, apogi (eo)
• Finnish: kannattaa (fi), tukea (fi), kannustaa (fi)
• French: soutenir (fr)
• German: unterstützen (de)
• Hawaiian: kākoʻo, hāpai
• Hebrew: תָּמַךְ (he) (tamákh)
• Hungarian: támogat (hu)
• Indonesian: mendukung (id)
• Italian: sostenere (it)
• Japanese: 支える (ja) (ささえる, sasaeru), 支援する (ja) (しえんする, shien suru)
• Kabuverdianu: apoia, apoiá
• Korean: 지지하다 (ko) (jijihada)
• Lao: ຄ້ຳ (kham)
• Latin: supersum (la)
• Malay: sokong (ms)
• Malayalam: പിന്തുണയ്ക്കുക (pintuṇaykkuka), അനുകൂലിക്കുക (ml) (anukūlikkuka)
• Maori: tautīnei, tautāwhi
• Ngazidja Comorian: uhimilia
• Polish: popierać (pl) impf, (sports team) kibicować (pl) impf
• Portuguese: apoiar (pt)
• Romanian: susține (ro)
• Russian: подде́рживать (ru) impf (poddérživatʹ), поддержа́ть (ru) pf (podderžátʹ)
• Sanskrit: यच्छति (sa) (yacchati)
• Scottish Gaelic: seas
• Spanish: respaldar (es), fomentar (es), apoyar (es), sostener (es), apartidar (es), acuerpar (es), secundar (es), advocar (es), propugnar (es)
• Swedish: stödja (sv)
• Thai: ค้ำ (th) (kám), หนุน (th) (nǔn), สนับสนุน (th) (sà-nàp-sà-nǔn)
• Turkish: tutmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: підтри́мувати impf (pidtrýmuvaty), підтри́мати pf (pidtrýmaty), підде́ржувати impf (piddéržuvaty), підде́ржати pf (piddéržaty)
• Vietnamese: ủng hộ (vi)
• Welsh: noddi (cy)
• Yiddish: שטײַערן (shtayern)

to help, particularly financially

• Afrikaans: ondersteun (af)
• Azerbaijani: dəstəkləmək
• Bulgarian: подпомагам (bg) (podpomagam)
• Catalan: donar suport
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 支持 (zh) (zhīchí)

• Czech: podporovat (cs)
• Danish: støtte
• Dutch: steunen (nl), ondersteunen (nl)
• Esperanto: subteni
• Finnish: tukea (fi), rahoittaa (fi), tukea rahallisesti, antaa rahaa (e.g. valtio antaa rahaa liikuntatyöhön), avustaa (fi), auttaa (fi)
• German: unterstützen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: τρέφω (tréphō)

• Hungarian: támogat (hu), eltart (hu), pártfogol (hu)
• Indonesian: menunjang (id)
• Irish: iompair
• Japanese: 支える (ja) (ささえる, sasaeru), 養う (ja) (やしなう, yashinau), 支援する (ja) (しえんする, shien suru), 援助する (ja) (えんじょする, enjo suru)
• Khmer: ចិញ្ចឹម (km) (cəñcəm)
• Latin: supersum (la)
• Lü: ᦷᦔᧅᦣᦸᧂ (ṗokhoang)
• Maori: tautoko (mi)
• Polish: wspierać (pl)
• Portuguese: financiar (pt), apoiar (pt)
• Romanian: susține (ro)
• Russian: подде́рживать (ru) impf (poddérživatʹ), поддержа́ть (ru) pf (podderžátʹ)
• Spanish: apoyar (es), respaldar (es), sostener (es)
• Thai: สนับสนุน (th) (sà-nàp-sà-nǔn)
• Turkish: destek olmak (tr), desteklemek (tr)
• Vietnamese: hỗ trợ (vi), tài trợ (vi)
• Yiddish: שטײַערן (shtayern)

to be designed for compatibility with

• Afrikaans: ondersteun (af)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 支持 (zh) (zhīchí)

• Finnish: tukea (fi), olla (fi) (e.g. onko siinä ääniohjaus?), olla yhteensopiva
• German: unterstützen (de), kompatibel sein
• Indonesian: mendukung (id)
• Japanese: 対応する (ja) (taiou suru), サポートする (ja) (sapōto suru)
• Polish: wspomagać (pl) impf, obsługiwać (pl) impf

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: (2,4) ^{(please verify)} soutenir (fr)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} appoggiare (it)

Etymology 2

From Middle English support, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French support. Displaced Old English wraþu.

Noun

support (countable and uncountable, plural supports)

1. (sometimes attributive) Something which supports.

   Don't move that beam! It's a support for the whole platform.

2. Financial or other help.

   The government provides support to the arts in several ways.

   • 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian‎^[4]:

     Kim was educated at the newly founded university in Pyongyang, named after his father, graduating in 1964. The 1960s and early 1970s were the golden years for the DPRK. It undertook rapid industrialisation, economically outstripped its southern competitor, and enjoyed the support of both the People's Republic of China, and the Soviet Union.

   • 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-2:

     Admiral Hackett: Hell of a thing you just pulled off, Commander. Curing the genophage? I never thought I'd see the day.
     Shepard: Wrex has agreed to help the turians, Admiral. We should get their full support.

3. Answers to questions and resolution of problems regarding something sold.

   Hyponyms: first-level support, second-level support, third-level support

   Sure they sell the product, but do they provide support?

4. (mathematics) in relation to a function, the set of points where the function is not zero; the closure of that set.

   Antonym: kernel

5. (fuzzy set theory) 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).

   If the membership function of a fuzzy set is continuous, then that fuzzy set's support is an open set.

6. (commutative algebra, of a module $M$ over a commutative ring $R$) The set of all prime ideals of $R$ such that the localization of $M$ at the prime is nonzero, denoted $\operatorname {Supp} M$
7. Evidence.

   The new research provides further support for our theory.

8. (computing) Compatibility and functionality for a given product or feature.

   This game has no mouse support.

9. An actor playing a subordinate part with a star.
10. An accompaniment in music.
11. (gymnastics) Clipping of support position.
    • 2008, Christopher Sommer, Building the Gymnastic Body, the Science of Gymnastic Strength Training, page 88:

      Dip down as far as you are able, aiming to descend to the bottom of your sternum. Press back up to a support.

12. (structural analysis) Horizontal, vertical or rotational support of structures: movable, hinged, fixed. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Hyponyms

• moral support
• (military): combat support

Derived terms

• air support
• book support
• child support
• customer support
• do-support
• duty of support
• emotional support animal
• income support
• life support
• life-support
• material support
• native support
• primary life support system
• professional support lawyer
• self-support
• spousal support
• support act
• support bubble
• support dog
• support force
• support group
• support level
• support sock
• support ticket
• support ticket system
• support vector machine
• technical support
• tech support

 

Translations

something which supports

• Aromanian: aradzim n
• Azerbaijani: dayaq (az)
• Belarusian: апо́ра f (apóra)
• Bulgarian: подпо́ра (bg) f (podpóra)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 支持 (zh) (zhīchí)

• Czech: podpěra (cs) f
• Danish: støtte c
• Dutch: steun (nl) m, ondersteuning (nl) f
• Estonian: tugi (et)
• Finnish: tuki (fi), pönkkä (fi), kannatin (fi), jalusta (fi), alusta (fi)
• French: soutien (fr) m
• Georgian: მხარდაჭერა (mxardač̣era)
• German: Stütze (de) f, Unterstützung (de) f, Abstützung (de) f, Halterung (de) f
• Greek: υποστήριξη (el) f (ypostírixi)

  Ancient: στήριγμα n (stḗrigma), ἔρεισμα n (éreisma)

• Hebrew: תמיכה (he) (tmichá)
• Hindi: सहारा (hi) (sahārā)
• Hungarian: támasz (hu)
• Indonesian: penyangga (id), sokongan (id), penyokong (id)
• Irish: gabháil m, branra m
• Italian: supporto (it) m
• Japanese: 支え (ja) (ささえ, sasae), 支持 (ja) (しじ, shiji), 維持 (ja) (いじ, iji)
• Kannada: ಬೆಂಬಲ (kn) (bembala)
• Korean: 지지(支持) (ko) (jiji)
• Latin: firmāmentum n, fulcīmen n, stabilimen n
• Malay: sokongan (ms)
• Malayalam: താങ്ങ് (ml) (tāṅṅŭ)
• Maori: turuki, kaumahaki (temporary for building), whaitaua (Refers to military support)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: støtte (no) m or f

• Old English: wraþu f
• Ottoman Turkish: دیرك (direk)
• Persian: پشتیبانی (fa) (poštibâni), حمایت (fa) (hemâyat)
• Polish: podpora (pl) f, wspornik (pl) m
• Portuguese: apoio (pt) m, suporte (pt) m
• Quechua: q'imi
• Romanian: suport (ro) n, reazem (ro) n
• Russian: опо́ра (ru) f (opóra)
• Sanskrit: धर्त्र (sa) n (dhartra)
• Scottish Gaelic: taic f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̏тпора f, о̀слонац m, по̏тпо̄рањ m, у̀порӣште n

  Roman: pȍtpora (sh) f, òslonac (sh) m, pȍtpōranj (sh) m, ùporīšte (sh) n

• Sidamo: irko
• Slovak: podpora f
• Slovene: podpora (sl) f
• Spanish: soporte (es) m, apoyo (es) m, apoyatura f, apoyadero m, empenta (es) f
• Swedish: stöd (sv) n
• Tahitian: turu
• Turkish: destek (tr)
• Ukrainian: опо́ра f (opóra), опертя́ n (opertjá), підпо́ра f (pidpóra)

financial or other help

• Arabic: تَأْيِيد m (taʔyīd), دَعْم m (daʕm)
• Azerbaijani: dəstək
• Belarusian: падтры́мка f (padtrýmka), паддзе́ржка f (paddzjéržka)
• Bulgarian: подкре́па (bg) f (podkrépa), поддръ́жка (bg) f (poddrǎ́žka)
• Catalan: suport (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 支持 (zh) (zhīchí)

• Czech: podpora (cs) f
• Danish: støtte
• Dutch: steun (nl), ondersteuning (nl), bijstand (nl)
• Esperanto: subteno
• Estonian: abi (et)
• Finnish: tuki (fi), raha (fi) (financial) (e.g. teatteri saa valtion rahaa), avustus (fi), -apu (e.g. ruoka-apu, valtionapu)
• French: soutien (fr) m
• Georgian: მხარდაჭერა (mxardač̣era)
• German: Unterstützung (de) f, Hilfe (de) f
• Greek: υποστήριξη (el) f (ypostírixi)
• Hebrew: תמיכה (he) (tmichá)
• Hungarian: támogatás (hu), segély (hu), segítség (hu)
• Icelandic: stuðningur (is)
• Ido: suporto (io)
• Indonesian: tunjangan (id)
• Italian: supporto (it) m
• Japanese: 援助 (ja) (えんじょ, enjo), 支援 (ja) (しえん, shien), 扶養 (ja) (ふよう, fuyō)
• Korean: 지원(支援) (ko) (jiwon), 지지(支持) (ko) (jiji), 원조(援助) (ko) (wonjo)
• Latin: subsidium n, tuitiō f
• Macedonian: поддршка f (poddrška)
• Malayalam: പിന്തുണ (ml) (pintuṇa)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: oppslutning (no) m or f (from people), bistand m

  Nynorsk: oppslutning f (from people)

• Occitan: sosten (oc) m
• Polish: wsparcie (pl) n, poparcie (pl) n
• Portuguese: apoio (pt) m
• Romanian: sprijin (ro) n, sprijinire (ro) f
• Russian: подде́ржка (ru) f (poddéržka)
• Scottish Gaelic: taic f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̀дршка f, по̏тпора f

  Roman: pòdrška (sh) f, pȍtpora (sh) f

• Slovak: podpora f
• Slovene: podpora (sl) f
• Spanish: apoyo (es) m, apoyatura f
• Swedish: stöd (sv) n
• Telugu: అండ (te) (aṇḍa)
• Tocharian B: pānto
• Turkish: destek (tr)
• Ukrainian: підтри́мка f (pidtrýmka), підде́ржка f (piddéržka)
• Walloon: subzide (wa) m, subzidiaedje (wa)
• West Frisian: stipe n

answers and resolution of problems

• Bulgarian: поддръ́жка (bg) f (poddrǎ́žka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 支持 (zh) (zhīchí)

• Czech: podpora (cs) f
• Dutch: hulp (nl), ondersteuning (nl), advies (nl)
• Finnish: tuki (fi), asiakastuki
• German: Unterstützung (de) f, Kundendienst (de) m, Service (de) m, Auskunft (de) f, Hilfe (de) f, Betreuung (de) f
• Greek: υποστήριξη (el) f (ypostírixi)
• Hungarian: támogatás (hu)
• Italian: assistenza (it) f
• Polish: wsparcie (pl) n, pomoc (pl) f
• Portuguese: suporte (pt) m
• Romanian: sprijinire (ro) f
• Russian: подде́ржка (ru) f (poddéržka)
• Spanish: apoyo (es) m, respaldo (es) m
• Swedish: support (sv)
• Turkish: çözüm (tr)

set of points where the function is not zero

• Dutch: drager (nl)
• Finnish: kantaja (fi), sulkeuma (closure)
• German: Träger (de) m
• Hebrew: תומך m
• Hungarian: tartó (hu)
• Polish: nośnik (pl) m

support of structures

• Bulgarian: опора (bg) f (opora)
• German: Lager (de) n

compatibility and functionality for a given product or feature

• Finnish: -tuki (e.g. onko siinä hiirituki?)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: ^{(please verify)} تَأْيِيد m (taʔyīd)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} sostegno (it) m
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} サポート (ja)
• Maori: ^{(please verify)} tautoko (mi)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} understöd (sv)
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} తోడ్పాటు (te) (tōḍpāṭu)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} destek (tr)

French

Etymology

From the verb supporter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sy.pɔʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

support m (plural supports)

1. support
2. base
3. (heraldry) supporter

Further reading

• “support”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Swedish

Etymology

From French (or German) and English support. Attested since 1697.

Noun

support c

1. support (help)

   Synonyms: hjälp, stöd

   Hon fick ingen support

   She didn't receive any support

3. support (for a product)

   Ring supporten

   Call tech support

Usage notes

Often in the definite "supporten" in (sense 2).

Declension

Declension of support

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	support	supports
	definite	supporten	supportens
plural	indefinite	supporter	supporters
	definite	supporterna	supporternas

Related terms

• supporter

References

• support in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• support in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• support in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)