remain
Americanverb (used without object)
-
remains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
remained,
past participle, past
-
remaining
present participle
-
to continue in the same state; continue to be as specified.
to remain at peace.
-
to stay behind or in the same place.
to remain at home;
I'll remain here when you go to the airport.
- Antonyms:
- depart
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to be left after the removal, loss, destruction, etc., of all else.
The front wall is all that remains of the fort.
-
to be left to be done, told, shown, etc..
Only the dishwashing remains.
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to be reserved or in store.
noun
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Usually remains. something that remains or is left.
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remains,
-
miscellaneous, fragmentary, or other writings still unpublished at the time of an author's death.
-
traces of some quality, condition, etc.
-
a dead body; corpse.
-
parts or substances remaining from animal or plant life that occur in the earth's crust or strata.
fossil remains;
organic remains.
-
verb
-
to stay behind or in the same place
to remain at home
only Tom remained
-
(copula) to continue to be
to remain cheerful
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to be left, as after use, consumption, the passage of time, etc
a little wine still remained in the bottle
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to be left to be done, said, etc
it remains to be pointed out
Synonym Usage
See continue.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
remainsimple
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remainssimple
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have remainedperfect
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has remainedperfect
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am remainingprogressive
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are remainingprogressive
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is remainingprogressive
-
have been remainingperfect progressive
-
has been remainingperfect progressive
Past
-
remainedsimple
-
had remainedperfect
-
was remainingprogressive
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were remainingprogressive
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had been remainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of remain
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English remainen, from Anglo-French remain-, stressed stem of Middle French remanoir, from Latin remanēre, equivalent to re- re- + manēre “to stay”; see manor
Explanation
To remain is to stay in the same place or situation. You can remain at home instead of going out to the movies with your friends, but that doesn't mean you won't remain friends. If things remain the same, they don't change, and if your family remains in the same town, they don't move. When something is left behind, it also remains: "All that remains of my party is a bunch of deflated balloons." In the fifteenth century, remain was a noun too, meaning "people or things left over or surviving." Today we use remainder instead.
Vocabulary lists containing remain
"The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet"
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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:
It will remain ambiguous well into the lockout, which owners are expected to impose when the current collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2026
Among them are a growing number of informal, privately run gas depots that have popped up across Havana, where most state-run gas stations remain closed because of U.S. sanctions against Cuban-government entities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
The four were Australia's attack in Cape Town and remain their first-choice bowlers eight years later.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026
However, the exact biological mechanisms responsible for the crows' speed advantage remain unknown.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026
The coming storm suddenly broke, rain crashed against the windows, “The atmosphere has changed. I cannot remain in form.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
To be sure, the Imperial CEO era remains, but Huang’s demise is a reminder that there are limits to their power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026
Although the technology remains experimental and the participant's visual experiences were limited to flashes and shapes of light, the results demonstrate how AI could improve communication between artificial vision devices and the brain.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026
Monitoring in Scotland remains far lower than in England, which has 100% coverage.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
“Diesel remains eye-wateringly expensive,” said Thomas Simons, chief U.S. economist at Jefferies.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2026
The villagers nearer to the remains of the house held buckets, and a few were patrolling near the ash, looking for embers that still needed extinguishing.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
That view remained dominant for approximately 150 years.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 12, 2026
He remained in Washington after leaving the chamber and held a role in the Treasury.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
NJ Transit said ridership numbers have remained relatively stable during the construction period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026
During his tenure in Peru, Prevost worked in poor and remote northern areas, and remained close to local communities during periods of hardship, visiting them sometimes on horseback.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2026
She remained motionless on her hands with her body stretched out for a long moment, slowly believing that the water was not going to hurt her.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
After center Walker Kessler grabbed a defensive rebound, Reaves staggered to the bench and limped toward the tunnel, forcing the Lakers to call a time out with 5:20 remaining in the third.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026
“Consistent with our historical approach, we expect to finance the majority of the remaining CapEx needed to deliver our backlog through delayed draw term loans matched to specific customer contracts,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026
The nephew of trainer Aidan O'Brien, he was a mainstay of the Minehead operation run by Philip Hobbs, joining as a teenager and remaining until his retirement in 2023.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2026
Among the remaining 151 companies, these 22 showed increases in quarterly sales per share of at least 50% from a year earlier.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 11, 2026
He tore the remaining foot off the carcass and tossed it over.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
