maintain
Americanverb (used with object)
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maintains,
present (3rd person singular)
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maintained,
past participle, past
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maintaining
present participle
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to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain.
to maintain good relations with neighboring countries.
- Antonyms:
- discontinue
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to keep in an appropriate condition, operation, or force; keep unimpaired.
to maintain order; to maintain public highways.
- Synonyms:
- keep up
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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
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to support in speech or argument, as a statement or proposition.
- Antonyms:
- contradict
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to keep or hold against attack.
to maintain one's ground.
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to provide for the upkeep or support of; carry the expenses of.
to maintain a family.
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to sustain or support.
not enough water to maintain life.
verb
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to continue or retain; keep in existence
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to keep in proper or good condition
to maintain a building
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to support a style of living
the money maintained us for a month
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(takes a clause as object) to state or assert
he maintained that Talbot was wrong
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to defend against contradiction; uphold
she maintained her innocence
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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
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maintainabilitynoun
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maintainernoun
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premaintainverb (used with object)
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undermaintainverb (used with object)
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maintainableadjective
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self-maintainedadjective
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self-maintainingadjective
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undermaintainedadjective
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unmaintainableadjective
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unmaintainedadjective
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well-maintainedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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maintainsimple
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maintainssimple
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have maintainedperfect
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has maintainedperfect
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am maintainingprogressive
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are maintainingprogressive
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is maintainingprogressive
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have been maintainingperfect progressive
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has been maintainingperfect progressive
Past
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maintainedsimple
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had maintainedperfect
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was maintainingprogressive
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were maintainingprogressive
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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
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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:
"We will continue to build a more robust defence force to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the region."
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
How long it can maintain that balance is another question.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
“It’s unclear which scenario will prevail, but we maintain cautious optimism. Why? Because going ahead with tariffs would exact a toll on both sides.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
The researchers also saw less amyloid beta accumulating in cells, while nerve cells were better able to maintain their function and avoid dying.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
Nevertheless, we often find it difficult to maintain the distinction between fine and applied art.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Barclays maintains its Brent crude oil forecast of $96.00 per barrel for 2026.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
A Polymarket spokesman said the company maintains “a close, active relationship with JPMorgan across multiple entities.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The U.S. and China are the AI superpowers, but swings in technology-related foreign direct investment will be very influential for other currencies, too, Sinha maintains.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
An England Under-17 international, the bruising forward will naturally grab more headlines if he maintains the level he found in Austria against the back-to-back Champions League winners.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
He maintains his composure as he looks at me.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Hong maintained that momentum throughout the spring and summer, as several establishment hands dropped out.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
Yet the central bank maintained tight monetary policy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Jefferies maintained its price target of $770 for the stock for 2027, after lifting that target from $510 at the end of June.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
He has long maintained he sought legal advice about whether he needed to declare the money and had been told he didn't.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Like many South Siders, my family maintained what was an admittedly dim and limited view of the university, even if my mom had passed a year happily working there.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Virgin was granted access last year to the Temple Mills International site for maintaining and storing trains, a critical requirement for an operator to launch services.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Supporters of maintaining TPS protections say beneficiaries have become integral parts of the community and economy and provide crucial services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
"We recognise that the health needs of our population are constantly evolving and need to consider a dynamic approach to maintaining our health and social care services."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Although this response helps preserve that balance, maintaining it over long periods could have physiological effects.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
“What then, Die?” he replied, maintaining a marble immobility of feature.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
