maintain
Americanverb (used with object)
-
maintains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
maintained,
past participle, past
-
maintaining
present participle
-
to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain.
to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.
- Antonyms:
- discontinue
-
to keep in an appropriate condition, operation, or force; keep unimpaired.
to maintain order; to maintain public highways.
- Synonyms:
- keep up
-
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
-
to support in speech or argument, as a statement or proposition.
- Antonyms:
- contradict
-
to keep or hold against attack.
to maintain one's ground.
-
to provide for the upkeep or support of; carry the expenses of.
to maintain a family.
-
to sustain or support.
not enough water to maintain life.
verb
-
to continue or retain; keep in existence
-
to keep in proper or good condition
to maintain a building
-
to support a style of living
the money maintained us for a month
-
(takes a clause as object) to state or assert
he maintained that Talbot was wrong
-
to defend against contradiction; uphold
she maintained her innocence
-
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
-
maintainabilitynoun
-
maintainernoun
-
premaintainverb (used with object)
-
undermaintainverb (used with object)
-
maintainableadjective
-
self-maintainedadjective
-
self-maintainingadjective
-
undermaintainedadjective
-
unmaintainableadjective
-
unmaintainedadjective
-
well-maintainedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
maintainsimple
-
maintainssimple
-
have maintainedperfect
-
has maintainedperfect
-
am maintainingprogressive
-
are maintainingprogressive
-
is maintainingprogressive
-
have been maintainingperfect progressive
-
has been maintainingperfect progressive
Past
-
maintainedsimple
-
had maintainedperfect
-
was maintainingprogressive
-
were maintainingprogressive
-
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
Words That Could Go Either Way: Synonyms for "Maybe"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Words for Father's Day: What Fathers Do
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
On Your Mark, Get Set, Commence Your Life!
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The researchers found that UroA activates a protective pathway in the intestine that may help maintain gut health.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Temporary sites need to be found to maintain signal coverage.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Frasers said at the beginning of the month that it would review whether to maintain its support for Sturm as it said it aimed to gain majority ownership of Hugo Boss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
“I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed…”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
They continued to maintain that Bobby would be deported back to the United States once the legal proceedings were concluded.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
TA Securities maintains its buy rating on YTL Power International, keeps target price at 6.53 ringgit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
China still maintains a 10 percent levy on all US goods, with additional rates applicable in other specific sectors, such as 15 percent on liquid natural gas.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Vals AI, a company that evaluates today’s AI models, maintains an RSI Index that benchmarks whether models can “do the research that builds the next model.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
"China's economy continues to show diverging signals, as consumption and investment remain weak while industrial production maintains the momentum," Zhiwei Zhang, President and Chief Economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, wrote in an analyst note.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
The Christian Union has bought and maintains new evangelical student centers at Brown, Princeton, and Cornell, and has plans to establish a center on every Ivy League campus.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
He acted as a key player in Chávez’s vision, propelled climate change discussions to the forefront under Brown’s administration in the late 1970s and maintained safe spaces for Sacramento’s homeless community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Oxford maintained that he was innocent but agreed to give police a cheek swab for a DNA test.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Council members agreed that freedom of navigation in the Red Sea must be maintained to prevent disruption to global supply chains.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
He said the two countries had always maintained close ties, "even at times of disagreement."
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 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
"Under the right conditions and in the right cells, these pathways can play an essential role in maintaining gut health and supporting tissue repair."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
In the cover story, the 2026 Oscar nominee reflected on her childhood in Manchester, being pregnant during awards season and her commitment to maintaining a joyful workplace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Analysts said satellite imagery showed that Saudi Arabia had expanded facilities for maintaining and manufacturing the missiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
For Chaudhuri, despite market expectations, the Fed should be holding rates, maintaining a level between 3.50% to 3.75% because inflation is actually moderating.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
I’m maintaining a noncreepy, half-block distance between us.
From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
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.
