sustainability

English Online Dictionary. What means sustainability‎? What does sustainability mean?

English

Etymology

From sustain +‎ -ability.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪləti/, [səˌsteɪnəˈbɪləɾi]
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /səˌstæɪnəˈbɪlɪti/, [səˌstæɪnəˈbɪlɪɾi]

Noun

sustainability (countable and uncountable, plural sustainabilities)

1. The ability to sustain something.
   1. (ecology) A means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, planning and acting for the ability to maintain these necessary resources for future generations.
   2. (business) The ability to sustain a business in the long term, which is a state that is partly dependent on, but broader than, profitability today or in the short term; it involves aspects of a plausible path toward eventual profitability (as applies to a startup) and ecologic sustainability (for example, the long-term dependence of the timber/lumber industry on forest preservation and renewal, or of fisheries on viable fish stocks).
   3. (civics) The ability to sustain a civic practice or process in the long term, such as democracy, entrepreneurialism, a war effort, or others.

Antonyms

• unsustainability

Derived terms

Related terms

• sustain
• sustainable
• sustenance

Translations

See also

• resilience
• resiliency