Put food on the table vs Sustain

When to use each in English, with meaning, register, and examples.

Put food on the table

Top 2,000 (common)

Sustain

Top 2,000 (common) C1 verb

	Put food on the table	Sustain
Pronunciation	🇬🇧 //pʊt fuːd ɒn ðə ˈteɪbəl// 🇺🇸 //pʊt fud ɔn ðə ˈteɪbəl//	🇬🇧 /["/səˈsteɪn/","/səˈsteɪnz/","/səˈsteɪnd/","/səˈsteɪnɪŋ/"]/ 🇺🇸 /["/səˈsteɪn/","/səˈsteɪnz/","/səˈsteɪnd/","/səˈsteɪnɪŋ/"]/
Meaning	To provide food for your family.	To keep something going or maintain it.
Example	He works hard every day to put food on the table.	We must find ways to sustain our natural resources for the future.
Register	Neutral	Neutral
How common	Top 2,000 (common)	Top 2,000 (common)
CEFR level	-	C1
Part of speech		verb
Collocations	put food, put food on, put food on the table, put dinner on the table	no longer, barely, indefinitely, be able to, can, be unable to
Antonyms	-	neglect, abandon, cease
Common mistakes	Used incorrectly as an action unrelated to providing food., Shortened to just 'put' which loses the meaning., Confused with literal placement of food on a table.	'Sustain' is often confused with 'sustained' as a past form., Learners sometimes forget to add an object after 'sustain'., 'Sustain' is misused when referring to temporary situations, instead of ongoing support.
Usage notes	Used to describe the act of providing basic needs, often in discussions about financial responsibility or family support. Suitable for both formal and informal contexts.	Use 'sustain' in contexts about keeping something alive or supporting it over time. It can be formal when discussing topics like environmental issues or less formal in conversations about personal interests.

See it in real clips

Not while you're struggling to put food on the table.

Put food on the table

"And I might share with you some words which have sustained me

Sherlock › S1 E1

Impossible to sustain a smoking habit in London these days.

There's not a planet in our solar system that could sustain life...

"And I might share with you some words which have sustained me

Sherlock › S1 E1

Impossible to sustain a smoking habit in London these days.

Sustain

Frequently asked questions: Put food on the table vs Sustain

What's the difference between Put food on the table and Sustain?

Put food on the table: To provide food for your family. Sustain: To keep something going or maintain it.

Can you show an example of each?

Put food on the table: He works hard every day to put food on the table. Sustain: We must find ways to sustain our natural resources for the future.

Can I use Put food on the table and Sustain interchangeably?

Not always. Put food on the table and Sustain are related and overlap in some contexts, but they differ in register, how common they are, and usage, so swapping one for another can change the meaning or tone. Check the differences above before substituting.