MAINTAIN

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does maintain mean? 

• MAINTAIN (verb)
  The verb MAINTAIN has 10 senses:

1. keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g.,
2. keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction
3. supply with necessities and support
4. state categorically
5. have and exercise
6. maintain for use and service
7. maintain by writing regular records
8. state or assert
9. support against an opponent
10. observe correctly or closely

  Familiarity information: MAINTAIN used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MAINTAIN (verb)

Meaning:

Keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g.,

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

keep; maintain; hold

Context examples:

keep clean / hold in place / She always held herself as a lady / The students keep me on my toes

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "maintain"):

pressurise; pressurize (maintain a certain pressure)

bear on; carry on; continue; preserve; uphold (keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last)

hold over (keep in a position or state from an earlier period of time)

conserve (keep constant through physical or chemical reactions or evolutionary change)

preserve (keep undisturbed for personal or private use for hunting, shooting, or fishing)

distance (keep at a distance)

housekeep (maintain a household; take care of all business related to a household)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s something Adjective/Noun
Somebody ----s somebody PP
Somebody ----s something PP

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

preserve; maintain; conserve; keep up

Context examples:

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

Hypernyms (to "maintain" is one way to...):

keep (look after; be the keeper of; have charge of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "maintain"):

hold the line (hold the line on prices; keep the price of something constant)

plastinate (preserve (tissue) with plastics, as for teaching an research purposes)

embalm (preserve a dead body)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Supply with necessities and support

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

maintain; sustain; keep

Context examples:

She alone sustained her family / The money will sustain our good cause / There's little to earn and many to keep

Hypernyms (to "maintain" is one way to...):

have; have got; hold (have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "maintain"):

patronage (support by being a patron of)

reseed (maintain by seeding without human intervention)

carry (keep up with financial support)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Meaning:

State categorically

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

asseverate; assert; maintain

Hypernyms (to "maintain" is one way to...):

insist; take a firm stand (be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "maintain"):

allege; aver; say (report or maintain)

predicate; proclaim (affirm or declare as an attribute or quality of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They maintain that there was a traffic accident

Meaning:

Have and exercise

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

wield; exert; maintain

Context example:

wield power and authority

Hypernyms (to "maintain" is one way to...):

have; have got; hold (have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Maintain for use and service

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

maintain; keep

Context examples:

I keep a car in the countryside / She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips

Hypernyms (to "maintain" is one way to...):

have; have got; hold (have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Maintain by writing regular records

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

maintain; keep

Context examples:

keep a diary / maintain a record / keep notes

Hypernyms (to "maintain" is one way to...):

enter; put down; record (make a record of; set down in permanent form)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

State or assert

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

defend; maintain

Context example:

He maintained his innocence

Hypernyms (to "maintain" is one way to...):

affirm (say yes to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "maintain"):

vindicate (maintain, uphold, or defend)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Meaning:

Support against an opponent

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

uphold; maintain

Context example:

The appellate court upheld the verdict

Hypernyms (to "maintain" is one way to...):

confirm; reassert (strengthen or make more firm)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "maintain"):

justify; vindicate (show to be right by providing justification or proof)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Observe correctly or closely

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

keep; observe; maintain

Context examples:

The pianist kept time with the metronome / keep count / I cannot keep track of all my employees

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something