maintain
Americanverb (used with object)
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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:
“Our economists maintain their October rate-hike forecast, while acknowledging a higher risk of a September move if yen weakness reaccelerates,” the members add.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
That may happen very soon if their men's team can maintain the form which has seen them reach second in the table after five matches.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Even so, many people, particularly those living with obesity, struggle to maintain regular physical activity over time.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026
What they could’ve done instead: Either choose appliances that are relatively easy to operate, or learn how to use and maintain them.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Lilya did, but that wasn’t the end of her insurrection, or of her battle to maintain her femininity.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Meanwhile, his wife, Amal, told Glamour in July 2025 how the family maintains their safety and security by implementing a strict phone ban inside her home.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
He maintains this isn't about usurping existing councils, but rather giving them a "booster pack".
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
However, Jefferies continues to see the stock’s valuation as undemanding and maintains a buy rating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The company, which maintains a Hollywood office, said the changes are necessary to “put our business on a path to profitable and sustainable growth.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
His discussion of clear and distinct ideas thus follows the example of Descartes, who maintains that only ideas which are clear can be used in argument.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Jackson Walker has maintained it acted appropriately once it learned of the couple’s relationship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
It concluded that the available evidence suggests spillover but maintained that the laboratory-leak hypothesis could not be ruled out.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ashleigh Gardner briefly maintained the pressure, including taking Dani Gibson's second set for 18 to carry Rockets beyond three figures off just 65 balls, but Sunrisers fought back with the ball.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Keeping the outdoor space well maintained is also a value-add, Perry said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
The bosses maintained the upper hand by staying united, decade after decade.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
He shaved it off, he told me, because maintaining it was too much trouble.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Researchers have developed a way to make twisted oxide materials over much larger areas while maintaining precise control over how their layers are rotated.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Katayama also said Japan’s Finance Ministry is maintaining close communication with the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The fact that they’re not spending as much maintaining their properties may depress their values, but it also keeps their expenses low.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
Now, the Japanese people are understandably concerned about maintaining their traditions in the face of massive Western cultural influence.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
