sup|port ◆◆◆ /səpɔː r t/ (supports , supporting , supported )
1 VERB If you support someone or their ideas or aims, you agree with them, and perhaps help them because you want them to succeed. □ [V n] The vice president insisted that he supported the hard-working people of New York. □ [V n] They pressed the party to support a total ban on pesticides. ● N‑UNCOUNT Support is also a noun. □ The Prime Minister gave his full support to the government's reforms.
2 N‑UNCOUNT If you give support to someone during a difficult or unhappy time, you are kind to them and help them. □ We campaign for the rights of sufferers and provide support for the patient and family.
3 N‑UNCOUNT Financial support is money provided to enable an organization to continue. This money is usually provided by the government. □ …the government's proposal to cut agricultural support by only about 15%.
4 VERB If you support someone, you provide them with money or the things that they need. □ [V n] I have children to support, money to be earned, and a home to be maintained. □ [V pron-refl] She sold everything she'd ever bought in order to support herself through art school.
5 VERB If a fact supports a statement or a theory, it helps to show that it is true or correct. □ [V n] The Freudian theory about daughters falling in love with their father has little evidence to support it. ● N‑UNCOUNT Support is also a noun. □ [+ for ] He offers no factual support for these assertions.
6 VERB If something supports an object, it is underneath the object and holding it up. □ [V n] …the thick wooden posts that supported the ceiling.
7 N‑COUNT A support is a bar or other object that supports something.
8 VERB If you support yourself , you prevent yourself from falling by holding onto something or by leaning on something. □ [V pron-refl] He supported himself by means of a nearby post. ● N‑UNCOUNT Support is also a noun. □ Alice, very pale, was leaning against him as if for support.
9 VERB If you support a sports team, you always want them to win and perhaps go regularly to their games. □ [V n] Tim, 17, supports Manchester United.
10 → see also supporting USAGE support
Don’t use ‘support’ to say that someone accepts pain or an unpleasant situation. Say that they bear
it or put up with
it. If you do not like something at all, don’t say that you ‘
1
adjective + support : full, overwhelming, strong, widespread; public
verb + support : express, give, lend, show; enjoy, gain, rally, win
2
noun + support : community
adjective + support : emotional, moral; invaluable
verb + support : offer, provide; receive
3
noun + support : government, income
adjective + support : financial, generous
verb + support : provide, receive; need, seek SYNONYMS support VERB 1
back: The Prime Minister is backed by the civic movement, Public Against Violence.
champion: He passionately championed the poor.
encourage: When things aren't going well, he encourages me, telling me not to give up.
defend: Matt defended all of Clarence's decisions, right or wrong.
stand up for: Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself. NOUN
2
help: Thanks very much for your help.
backing: Mr Bach set up his own consulting business with the backing of his old boss.
assistance: She can still come downstairs with assistance but she's very weak.
encouragement: I also had friends who gave me a great deal of encouragement.
3
aid: …regular flights carrying humanitarian aid to Cambodia.
help: Thanks very much for your help.
benefit: The very poorest parents are not in work, they are living on benefit.
relief: …famine relief. VERB 4
provide for: Elaine wouldn't let him provide for her.
fund: The airport is being privately funded by a construction group.
keep: She could just about afford to keep her five kids.
finance: The fund has been used largely to finance the construction of federal prisons.
sup|port|er ◆◆◇ /səpɔː r tə r / (supporters ) N‑COUNT [usu pl] Supporters are people who support someone or something, for example a political leader or a sports team. □ The fourth night of violence in the German city of Rostock was triggered by football supporters. □ Bradley was a major supporter of the 1986 tax reform plan. SYNONYMS supporter NOUN
follower: …the Democratic Party's most loyal followers.
fan: As a boy he was a Manchester United fan.
advocate: He was a strong advocate of free market policies and a multi-party system.
champion: He received acclaim as a champion of the oppressed.
defender: …the most ardent defenders of conventional family values.