Noun

(en noun)

Something which supports. Often used attributively, as a complement or supplement to.

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

Financial or other help.

The government provides support to the arts in several ways.

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=December 19 , author=Kerry Brown , title=Kim Jong-il obituary , work=The Guardian citation , page= , passage=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.}}

Answers to questions and resolution of problems regarding something sold.

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

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

* 2004 , Amara Graps, An Introduction to Wavelets''] — [http://www.amara.com/IEEEwave/IW_history.html ''Historical Perspective

The first mention of wavelets appeared in an appendix to the thesis of A. Haar (1909). One property of the Haar wavelet is that it has compact support, which means that it vanishes outside of a finite interval. Unfortunately, Haar wavelets are not continuously differentiable which somewhat limits their applications.

(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.

Noun

(countable) Any activity that uses physical exertion or skills competitively under a set of rules that is not based on aesthetics.

(countable) A person who exhibits either good or bad sportsmanship.

* Jen may have won, but she was sure a poor sport ; she laughed at the loser.

* The loser was a good sport , and congratulated Jen on her performance.

(countable) Somebody who behaves or reacts in an admirable manner, a good sport.

* You're such a sport ! You never get upset when we tease you.

(obsolete) That which diverts, and makes mirth; pastime; amusement.

* Shakespeare

Think it but a minute spent in sport .

* Sir Philip Sidney

Her sports were such as carried riches of knowledge upon the stream of delight.

* Hey Diddle Diddle

The little dog laughed to see such sport , and the dish ran away with the spoon.

(obsolete) Mockery; derision.

* Shakespeare

Then make sport at me; then let me be your jest.

(countable) A toy; a plaything; an object of mockery.

* Dryden

flitting leaves, the sport of every wind

* John Clarke

Never does man appear to greater disadvantage than when he is the sport of his own ungoverned passions.

(uncountable) Gaming for money as in racing, hunting, fishing.

(biology, botany, zoology, countable) A plant or an animal, or part of a plant or animal, which has some peculiarity not usually seen in the species; an abnormal variety or growth. The term encompasses both mutants and organisms with non-genetic developmental abnormalities such as birth defects.

* '>citation

(slang, countable) A sportsman; a gambler.

(slang, countable) One who consorts with disreputable people, including prostitutes.

(obsolete, uncountable) An amorous dalliance.

* Charlie and Lisa enjoyed a bit of sport after their hike.

(informal, usually singular) A friend or acquaintance (chiefly used when speaking to the friend in question)

* {{quote-magazine

, date= , year=1924 , month=July , first= , last= , author=Ellis Butler , coauthors= , title=The Little Tin Godlets , volume=25 , issue=1 , page=14 , magazine=The Rotarian , publisher=Rotary International , issn= citation , passage="Say, sport !" he would say briskly.}}

(obsolete) Play; idle jingle.

* Broome

An author who should introduce such a sport of words upon our stage would meet with small applause.