maintain

American  

[meyn-teyn] / meɪnˈteɪn /

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.

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maintain British  

/ 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

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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.

Related Words

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

• maintainability noun
• maintainable adjective
• 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

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.

Example Sentences

Policymakers are widely expected to maintain the current interest-rate range of 3.50% to 3.75%.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 26, 2026

Still, there are many in Festus who prefer to maintain their city as a semirural bedroom community.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

Each color can represent a unique strategy that helps maintain balance within a population.

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2026

Many in the US have an instinctive hostility to what they see as a colonial hangover and the desire to maintain influence in Latin America.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

It is, I maintain, incompatible with any grasp of the achievements of modern science.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

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