maintain
Americanverb (used with object)
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maintains,
present (3rd person singular)
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maintained,
past participle, past
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maintaining
present participle
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to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain.
to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.
- Antonyms:
- discontinue
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to keep in an appropriate condition, operation, or force; keep unimpaired.
to maintain order; to maintain public highways.
- Synonyms:
- keep up
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to keep in a specified state, position, etc..
to maintain a correct posture; to maintain good health.
-
He maintained that the country was going downhill.
- Synonyms:
- asseverate
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to support in speech or argument, as a statement or proposition.
- Antonyms:
- contradict
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to keep or hold against attack.
to maintain one's ground.
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to provide for the upkeep or support of; carry the expenses of.
to maintain a family.
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to sustain or support.
not enough water to maintain life.
verb
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to continue or retain; keep in existence
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to keep in proper or good condition
to maintain a building
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to support a style of living
the money maintained us for a month
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(takes a clause as object) to state or assert
he maintained that Talbot was wrong
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to defend against contradiction; uphold
she maintained her innocence
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to defend against physical attack
Usage
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.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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maintainabilitynoun
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maintainernoun
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premaintainverb (used with object)
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undermaintainverb (used with object)
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maintainableadjective
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self-maintainedadjective
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self-maintainingadjective
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undermaintainedadjective
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unmaintainableadjective
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unmaintainedadjective
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well-maintainedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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maintainsimple
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maintainssimple
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have maintainedperfect
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has maintainedperfect
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am maintainingprogressive
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are maintainingprogressive
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is maintainingprogressive
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have been maintainingperfect progressive
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has been maintainingperfect progressive
Past
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maintainedsimple
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had maintainedperfect
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was maintainingprogressive
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were maintainingprogressive
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had been maintainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of maintain
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”; see manual, tenet
Explanation
Maintain means to keep the same––keep steady, keep up, or keep going. Sure, you can ride your bike super fast on a flat surface, but it can be hard to maintain that speed, or keep the same speed, going up a hill. When you maintain a strict study schedule, you stick to it. When you maintain your car in good working order, you take good care of it. If you maintain records of your business activity, it means you make notes of your sales and expenses. If a teacher maintains order in the classroom, she never lets disruptions get out of hand. If you maintain your family, you keep them in food, shelter and clothing. If you maintain that eating animals is cruel, you keep that position.
Vocabulary lists containing maintain
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Washington’s willingness to maintain freedom of the seas, unilaterally or with allies, has deteriorated in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
“These provisions will help policyholders maintain coverage and better understand an insurers decision to nonrenew the policy,” said Mark Sektnan, vice president of state government relations, in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
The compound also limited enlargement of heart muscle cells compared with controls, helping the cells maintain more normal function.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Orders for three floating dry docks, worth £6bn, to maintain the Royal Navy's nuclear-powered submarine fleet at Faslane will go to a UK-based shipbuilder, the chancellor has confirmed.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Generally they try to maintain peace in group settings and encourage co-operation.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Lula, a veteran and pragmatic leader, maintains normal ties with the right-wing leaders of Chile, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
A relentless campaigner, he maintains a near-constant presence on pro-government television channels, embracing locals in tiny rural villages and chastising his critics during lengthy news conferences.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
The article maintains that Latino men are a decisive constituency whose votes could determine congressional and local races.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Jefferies raises its target price on Fujitsu to 4,250 yen from Y3,830 and maintains a hold rating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
A coffee bar is set off to the side, below a rustic-looking sign that says: Caffeine maintains my sunny personality.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
The NFL produced another thrilling day of action on Sunday with a shock for the defending champions as five teams maintained their unbeaten record this season.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
The French energy company’s updated outlook was an overall positive, with maintained energy growth until 2030 and an increasing portion of energy mix being electricity in the future, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
The Pretoria Peace Agreement of 2022, brokered by African institutions and Washington, maintained an uneasy calm until last year.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Weinstein said he has “remorse for Miriam Haley’s pain,” but maintained that he’s innocent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
These proper folk, who had always maintained an appearance of peaceful reserve, now rolled in the aisles with abandon.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
Katayama stated that Japanese officials view the yen’s undervaluation as problematic and remain committed to maintaining order in the market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Later studies found that glymphatic activity is especially strong during sleep and plays an important role in maintaining brain health.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Godspeed bringing your mother’s estate to a conclusion, and maintaining those enviably strong family ties.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026
“Nathan quoted Wilson $110,000 for an untraceable site with a satellite, ghost server, ghost hosting, full build, maintaining, and full algorithmic push across all platforms ... for 3 months,” the filing alleges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Uncle Jet talked about the importance of maintaining a good hair style and about having confidence.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
