Synonyms

maintain

American

[meyn-teyn] / meɪnˈteɪn /

verb (used with object)

to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain.

to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.

Synonyms:

keep up, continue

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.
to affirm; assert; declare.

He maintained that the country was going downhill.

Synonyms:

asseverate
to support in speech or argument, as a statement or proposition.

Synonyms:

justify, vindicate, defend, uphold

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.

maintain British

/ meɪnˈteɪn /

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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.

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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:

maintain maintains maintained maintaining

Inflationary pressure could encourage central banks to maintain high rates or even raise them.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

Claims have fallen for six consecutive weeks as employers maintain a “low hire, low fire” approach to their headcounts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

The Manx government said the change would be made in line the island's reciprocal arrangements under the Customs and Excise Agreement, which sees the island maintain the same VAT rates as the United Kingdom.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Pending a change in regulation, this will be the end of the line for releases from the reserve, which is required by statute to maintain a minimum inventory of about 250 million barrels of oil.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

The Incorrigibles wanted to play, too, but Penelope explained that they would help choose the winner and must therefore stay behind and eat second helpings of pancakes in order to maintain their neutrality.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

The government maintains there has been no decision to delay its introduction.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Researchers hope that this timing will help them better understand the solar dynamo, the process that creates and maintains the Sun's magnetic field.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

Sable maintains it has fully repaired the pipelines and that the company adheres to stringent safety precautions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Unlike the others convicted in this case, Sanchez-Estrada was not at the protest and maintains he had no role in its planning.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

But if they did not exist, the structure of world society, and the process by which it maintains itself, would not be essentially different.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Infantino has maintained Fifa's judicial bodies operate independently.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Ratings firms have also maintained a broadly positive view of the sector.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

ServiceNow’s management has maintained that the company isn’t at risk of AI displacement because it gives enterprise customers a mission-critical platform for managing different business procedures.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Taisiia Obod, a 21-year-old political science student, also hoped Fedorov would remain "within government" and that momentum for his "reforms and initiatives" would be maintained.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

We had maintained a good pace and the cross-examinations had been shorter than I had expected.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Officers also dismantled the protesters' stage and makeshift tents at Jantar Mantar, but demonstrators have refused to leave, maintaining a round-the-clock sit-in under heavy police and paramilitary deployment.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

"The two sides underscored the importance of maintaining peace, security, and stability in the region, reducing the risk of miscalculation, and sustaining dialogue on matters of mutual concern," the statement read.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Companies maintaining regular Saudi trade should consider their exposure elevated, particularly for vessels calling at Red Sea ports.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The couple takes the Mills Act obligations, such as maintaining their home’s historic character and adhering to design guidelines, seriously.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

“We are all responsible for maintaining the University’s reputation, E’lir Kvothe. An item like this in the wrong hands would reflect badly on all of us.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023