Definition of "uphold" []

• To hold aloft; raise: upheld the banner proudly. (verb-transitive)
• To prevent from falling or sinking; support. (verb-transitive)
• To maintain or affirm against opposition. See Synonyms at support. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Willingly abusing power to break the fundamental laws of the Constitution, a document that our elected officials are SWORN to uphold, is treason."
• "This latest incident in Afghanistan shows just how far the country has to go in resolving their attitudes toward women and free speech, and the democracy we struggle to uphold from the Taliban is scarcely any better at all."
• "WIth the departure of Darth Cheney, America will again uphold the rule of law at home and not the petty rule of an oligarch-tyrant who believed “l’etat c’est moi” was the policy for both 300 million Americans as well as untold countless illegally-detained and - tortured overseas in his gulags. —"