# sustainable

Pronunciation: US say "suh-STAY-nuh-buhl" /səˈsteɪnəbəl/; UK

## Adjective

1. Able to be produced or maintained over an indefinite period without harming the environment or using up a resource; renewable.
   - Simple: Able to be used or made for a long time without harming nature or using up resources.
   - _Fisheries managed at sustainable levels allow fish populations to replenish each season._
   - _Designers increasingly favor sustainable materials that can be harvested without exhausting forests._
2. Able to be maintained, continued, or kept up over a period of time.
   - Simple: Able to be kept going or kept up over time.
   - _The rapid growth proved sustainable only as long as cheap credit lasted._
   - _Doctors questioned whether the intense training schedule was sustainable over many years._

## Noun

3. An energy source that renews itself naturally and is not used up, such as solar, wind, or hydro power.
   - Simple: A source of energy, like sunlight or wind, that does not run out.
   - _The utility plans to replace its coal plants with a mix of sustainables over the next decade._
   - _Investors increasingly treat each new sustainable as a long-term asset._

## Origin

Formed from the verb "sustain" combined with the suffix "-able."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sustainable (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).