maintain

[ meyn-teyn ]

verb (used with object)

1. to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain:

   to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.

   Synonyms: continue, keep up

   Antonyms: discontinue

2. to keep in an appropriate condition, operation, or force; keep unimpaired:

   to maintain order; to maintain public highways.

   Synonyms: keep up

3. to keep in a specified state, position, etc.:

   to maintain a correct posture; to maintain good health.

4. to affirm; assert; declare:

   He maintained that the country was going downhill.

   Synonyms: asseverate

5. to support in speech or argument, as a statement or proposition.

   Synonyms: justify, vindicate, defend, uphold

   Antonyms: contradict

6. to keep or hold against attack:

   to maintain one's ground.

7. to provide for the upkeep or support of; carry the expenses of:

   to maintain a family.

8. to sustain or support:

   not enough water to maintain life.

maintain

/ meɪnˈteɪn /

verb

1. to continue or retain; keep in existence
2. to keep in proper or good condition

   to maintain a building

3. to support a style of living

   the money maintained us for a month

4. takes a clause as object to state or assert

   he maintained that Talbot was wrong

5. to defend against contradiction; uphold

   she maintained her innocence

6. to defend against physical attack

Derived Forms

• mainˈtainable, adjective
• mainˈtainer, noun

Other Words From

• main·taina·ble adjective
• main·taina·bili·ty noun
• main·tainer noun
• premain·tain verb (used with object)
• self-main·tained adjective
• self-main·taining adjective
• under·main·tain verb (used with object)
• under·main·tained adjective
• unmain·taina·ble adjective
• unmain·tained adjective
• well-main·tained adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of maintain¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English mainteinen from Old French maintenir, ultimately from Medieval Latin manūtenēre, Latin manū tenēre literally, “to hold in hand,” equivalent to manū, ablative of manus “hand” + tenēre “to hold”; manual, tenet

Word History and Origins

Origin of maintain¹

C13: from Old French maintenir, ultimately from Latin manū tenēre to hold in the hand

Synonym Study

Maintain, assert, aver, allege, hold, state all mean to express an opinion, judgment, or position. Maintain carries the implications of both firmness and persistence in declaring or supporting a conviction: She maintained her client's innocence even in the face of damaging evidence. Assert suggests assurance, confidence, and sometimes aggressiveness in the effort to persuade others to agree with or accept one's position: He asserted again and again the government's right to control the waterway. Aver, like assert, implies confident declaration and sometimes suggests a firmly positive or peremptory tone; in legal use aver means “to allege as fact”: to aver that the evidence is incontrovertible. Allege indicates a statement without evidence to support it, and thus can imply doubt as to the validity or accuracy of an assertion: The official is alleged to have been unaware of the crime. Hold means simply to have or express a conviction or belief: We hold these truths to be self-evident; She held that her rights had been violated. State usually suggests a declaration that is forthright and unambiguous: He stated his reasons in clear, simple language.

Example Sentences

Because I wrote a book years ago about the Army-Navy football rivalry and have maintained connections with many from the two schools, I know a lot of veterans.

From Washington Post

They are institutions built to hold and maintain power for a political group.

From Washington Post

One method of maintaining a connection to the person, product or brand that is the target of a boycott is called “moral decoupling.”

From Washington Post

Those statements conflict with the union’s efforts to work with the NBA on a scaled-down event, in hopes of salvaging television revenue and maintaining productive relationships with the owners and media partners.

From Washington Post

Shallal said the Anacostia Busboys and Poets has maintained more revenue during the pandemic than any of the restaurant’s other locations.

From Washington Post

Models in Israel will have to maintain a BMI of 18.5 or higher if they want to stay employed.

From The Daily Beast

They were just way too aggressive to try and maintain on a farm here,” says Gow of his “Nazi cows.

From The Daily Beast

While not all 86 million maintain positions of governance or public service, the Party's machinery runs on watchmaker precision.

From The Daily Beast

There was really only one good reason to maintain the embargo: Trade with Cuba strengthens the Castros.

From The Daily Beast

But if the goal is to maintain any hope—grim as it is— for serious negotiations leading to a two state solution.

From The Daily Beast

The dormant accounts most of the banks maintain with the reserve bank are, perhaps, indicative of their attitude toward it.

From Project Gutenberg

I always maintain that our women are of immense service to us, but many of them are physically unfit.

From Project Gutenberg

But in one respect the currency notes helped to maintain the country's gold standard.

From Project Gutenberg

My own opportunities have been very limited, yet so far as they go they tend to maintain the justice of this remark.

From Project Gutenberg

Not one of the early electric actions proved either quick or reliable, and all were costly to install and maintain.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• continue
• control
• cultivate
• finance
• keep
• manage
• preserve
• protect
• provide
• renew
• retain
• support
• sustain
• uphold

When To Use

What are other ways to say maintain?

To maintain something is to keep it in existence, or to preserve it. How does maintain compare to the synonyms support, sustain, and uphold? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.