maintain

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maintain

/meɪnˈteɪn/
/mənˈteɪn/

Rhymes with -eɪn

Where it comes from

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”).

verb maintains · maintaining · maintained

To keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state, condition etc.). maintain contact
Similar: subsist
To declare or affirm (a clause) to be true; to assert. Pullman traditionalists will no doubt maintain that the full-service-at-every-seat principle is popular with their clientele; [...].
To keep in good condition and working order. The admirable smoothness of the riding also reflected the greatest credit on those who, despite the difficulties caused by the shortage of men and materials, have succeeded in maintaining the track in such first-class order.
obsolete, transitive To support (someone), to back up or assist (someone) in an action. And thenne he asked leue & wente oute of his heremytage for to mayntene his neuewe ageynst the myghty Erle and so hit happed that this man that lyeth here dede dyd so moche by his wysedome and hardynes that the Erle was take and thre of his lordes by force of this dede man.
intransitive, slang To keep composed; to keep one's head up; to stay confident, strong, self-assured; to avoid being a victim; to keep oneself from falling apart. No matter what, you gotta maintain.

Opposite: abandon

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: sustain, keep up, keep, uphold, wield, defend, hold, exert, observe, assert, asseverate, preserve, support, sustaining, sustainment, sustenance

verb

Opposite: abandon

Translations

Every language

verb to keep up

Español	mantener, manutener
한국어	유지하다 yuji-hada
日本語	保つ tamotsu, 維持する iji suru
中文	維持 /维持 wéichí
हिन्दी	बनाए रखना banāe rakhnā
Kiswahili	dumisha
Português	manter
Français	entretenir
Deutsch	unterhalten, warten, beibehalten, aufrechterhalten
Italiano	mantenere
Ελληνικά	διατηρώ diatiró
Română	menține
Русский	подде́рживать poddérživatʹ, поддержа́ть podderžátʹ
العربية	حَافَظَ ḥāfaẓa

verb to declare or affirm a point of view to be true

Español	mantener, sostener
Português	afirmar
Français	maintenir
Ελληνικά	ισχυρίζομαι ischyrízomai
Română	afirma

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MLA

"maintain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/maintain. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

maintain. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/maintain

Chicago

"maintain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/maintain.

BibTeX

@misc{maintain_2026,
  title = {maintain},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/maintain},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}