maintain

[meyn-teyn]

verb (used with object)

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

   to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.

   Synonyms: keep up, continue
   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

Other Word Forms

• maintainable adjective
• maintainability noun
• maintainer noun
• premaintain verb (used with object)
• self-maintained adjective
• self-maintaining adjective
• undermaintain verb (used with object)
• undermaintained adjective
• unmaintainable adjective
• unmaintained adjective
• well-maintained 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

Using this model, the researchers were able to maintain human blood cell formation in the laboratory for several weeks.

Read more on Science Daily

The government in Lisbon has made maintaining routes to Portuguese-speaking parts of the world a priority in any deal for TAP.

Read more on Barron's

“It shut down its opponents’ firepower through these cease-fires, but at the same time has maintained its ability to attack and go after its opponents’ assets any time it wants to.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

While employers are legally required to maintain benefit records, especially for pension and employer-sponsored life insurance, they too can fall down on the job.

Read more on MarketWatch

If they maintain that rate they will concede 17 goals over the 38 games.

Read more on BBC

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.