verb To keep erect; to support; to sustain; to keep from falling.
verb To support by approval or encouragement; to vindicate; to confirm (something which has been questioned).
verb ↑ Oxford-Paravia Concise - Dizionario Inglese-Italiano e Italiano-Inglese. Edited by Maria Cristina Bareggi. Torino: Paravia, 2003 (in collaboration with Oxford University Press). ISBN 8839551107. Online version here