remain

[ri-meyn]

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verb (used without object)

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.

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.

to be reserved or in store.

noun

Usually remains. something that remains or is left.

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miscellaneous, fragmentary, or other writings still unpublished at the time of an author's death.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.

Origin of remain

1375–1425; late Middle English remainen < Anglo-French remain-, stressed stem of Middle French remanoir < Latin remanēre, equivalent to re- re- + manēre to stay; see manor

Related formsun·re·main·ing, adjective

Synonyms for remain

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR remain ON THESAURUS.COM

1. abide, stay. 2. wait, tarry, rest. 3. endure, abide.

Synonym study

1. See continue.

Antonyms for remain

2. depart.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for remains

remnant, debris, residue, leavings, detritus, rest, remainder, remnants

Examples from the Web for remains

Contemporary Examples of remains

A fourth suspect, a 26-year-old woman named Hayat Boumeddiene, remains at large.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers
Nico Hines
January 9, 2015
So, Islamized teaching sends girls back home for marriage and housework, and remains exclusively for boys.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President
Pierre Assouline
January 9, 2015
But he, like many people using dating apps whatever their sexual identity, remains stoutly positive.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem
David Levesley
January 9, 2015
But how much they have regained or how durable their hold is remains unclear.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War
Nancy A. Youssef
January 7, 2015
Senhor José remains stationary, but this lengthy series of clauses propels the reader along an unmarked path.
The Lost Novel of Nobel-Winner José Saramago
Charles Shafaieh
January 5, 2015

Historical Examples of remains

"I have heard that she remains at the house where Phidias died," rejoined Plato.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
I don't believe he likes Infant-ry, for he remains onmarried.
Punchinello, Vol. 1. No. 20, August 13, 1870
Various
There only remains to examine the opinions of those who differ from me.
A Theological-Political Treatise [Part II]
Benedict of Spinoza
With the exception of Fountains, the remains are more perfect than any in Yorkshire.
Yorkshire Painted And Described
Gordon Home
It only remains for me now to say a word or two about the end of his life.
The Man Shakespeare
Frank Harris

British Dictionary definitions for remains

remains

pl n

any pieces, scraps, fragments, etc, that are left unused or still extant, as after use, consumption, the passage of time, etcthe remains of a meal; archaeological remains

the body of a dead person; corpse

Also called: literary remains the unpublished writings of an author at the time of his or her death

remain

verb (mainly intr)

to stay behind or in the same placeto remain at home; only Tom remained

(copula) to continue to beto remain cheerful

to be left, as after use, consumption, the passage of time, etca little wine still remained in the bottle

to be left to be done, said, etcit remains to be pointed out

Word Origin for remain

C14: from Old French remanoir, from Latin remanēre to be left, from re- + manēre to stay

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

Word Origin and History for remains

remain

early 15c., from Anglo-French remayn-, Old French remain-, stressed stem of remanoir "stay, dwell, remain; be left; hold out," from Latin remanere "to remain, to stay behind; be left behind; endure, abide, last" (cf. Spanish remaner, Italian rimanere), from re- "back" (see re-) + manere "to stay, remain" (see mansion). Related: Remained; remaining.

remain

"those left over or surviving," mid-15c., from Middle French remain, back-formation from Old French remanoir, remaindre, or else formed in Middle English from remain (v.). But the more usual noun in English has been remainder except in remains, euphemism for "corpse," attested from c.1700, from mortal remains.