maintain Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"
    hold; keep.
    • hold in place
    • She always held herself as a lady
    • The students keep me on my toes
  2. verb keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction
    preserve; keep up; conserve.
    • 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
  3. verb supply with necessities and support
    sustain; keep.
    • She alone sustained her family
    • The money will sustain our good cause
    • There's little to earn and many to keep
  4. verb state categorically
    assert; asseverate.
  5. verb have and exercise
    wield; exert.
    • wield power and authority
  6. verb maintain for use and service
    keep.
    • I keep a car in the countryside
    • She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips
  7. verb maintain by writing regular records
    keep.
    • keep a diary
    • maintain a record
    • keep notes
  8. verb state or assert
    defend.
    • He maintained his innocence
  9. verb support against an opponent
    uphold.
    • The appellate court upheld the verdict
  10. verb stick to correctly or closely
    observe; keep.
    • The pianist kept time with the metronome
    • keep count
    • I cannot keep track of all my employees

WordNet

Main*tain transitive verb
Etymology
OE. maintenen, F. maintenir, properly, to hold by the hand; main hand (L. manus) + F. tenir to hold (L.tenere). See Manual, and Tenable.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Maintained ; present participle & verbal noun Maintaining
Definitions
  1. To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation.
  2. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish.
    God values . . . every one as he maintains his post. Grew.
  3. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail.
    Maintain talk with the duke. Shak.
  4. To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed.
    Glad, by his labor, to maintain his life. Stirling.
    What maintains one vice would bring up two children. Franklin.
  5. To affirm; to support or defend by argument.
    It is hard to maintain the truth, but much harder to be maintained by it. South.
    Syn. -- To assert; vindicate; allege. See Assert.

Webster 1913