Link Centre Dictionary

maintain

main·tain

UK/meɪnˈteɪn/ US/mənˈteɪn/ common slang

verb

1.

keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"

  • “hold in place”
  • “She always held herself as a lady”
  • “The students keep me on my toes”
Synonyms
2.

keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction

  • “We preserve these archeological findings”
  • “The old lady could not keep up the building”
  • “children must be taught to conserve our national heritage”
  • “The museum curator conserved the ancient manuscripts”
Synonyms
3.

supply with necessities and support

  • “She alone sustained her family”
  • “The money will sustain our good cause”
  • “There”
Synonyms
4.
5.

of power or authority

Synonyms
6.

maintain for use and service

  • “I keep a car in the countryside”
  • “She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips”
Synonyms
7.

maintain by writing regular records

  • “keep a diary”
  • “maintain a record”
  • “keep notes”
Synonyms
8.

state or assert

  • “He maintained his innocence”
Synonyms
9.

support against an opponent

  • “The appellate court upheld the verdict”
Synonyms
10.

observe correctly or closely

  • “The pianist kept time with the metronome”
  • “keep count”
  • “I cannot keep track of all my employees”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English mayntenen, from Old French maintenir, from Late Latin manūteneō, manūtenēre (“I support”), from Latin manū (“with/in/by the hand”, ablative of manus) + tenēre (“to hold”).

Phrases

  • maintain appearances

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.