Support crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Support” are BACK, BEAR or ACHE, with 4 letters. Below are 87 answers from 3 to 13 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

RIB 3 letters · noun

support resembling the rib of an animal

BACK 4 letters · verb

be behind; approve of “I backed Kennedy in 1960”

STAND 5 letters · verb

put up with something or somebody unpleasant

LIVING 6 letters · noun

the financial means whereby one lives

FUNDING 7 letters · noun

financial resources provided to make some project possible

TOLERATE 8 letters · verb

put up with something or somebody unpleasant “he learned to tolerate the heat”

SUBSCRIBE 9 letters · verb

adopt as a belief “I subscribe to your view on abortion”

LIVELIHOOD 10 letters · noun

the financial means whereby one lives “he could no longer earn his own livelihood”

CORROBORATE 11 letters · verb

establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts

SUBSTANTIATE 12 letters · verb

establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts

DOCUMENTATION 13 letters · noun

documentary validation “his documentation of the results was excellent”

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, BACK, BEAR, ACHE, LIVE, REST and BASE all fit. The third letter settles most of it: C → BACK · A → BEAR · H → ACHE · V → LIVE · S → REST, BASE. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, STAND, BROOK, ABIDE, CARRY, BLOCK and EXIST all fit. The second letter tells them all apart: T → STAND · R → BROOK · B → ABIDE · A → CARRY · L → BLOCK · X → EXIST. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 6 squares, LIVING, DEFEND, SUFFER, BACKUP, ENDURE and AFFIRM all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: L → LIVING · D → DEFEND · S → SUFFER · B → BACKUP · E → ENDURE · A → AFFIRM. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “supported” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “support” means

• verb: give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to (“She supported him during the illness”)
• verb: support materially or financially (“he does not support his natural children”)
• verb: be behind; approve of
• verb: be the physical support of; carry the weight of (“He supported me with one hand while I balanced on the beam”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as SUPPORT, and words whose definition is SUPPORT. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.