Meaning & use
maintain
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To keep something in good working order or at the same level by caring for it or continuing to put effort into it.
Grammar: Always takes an object: maintain the equipment, maintain a speed.
Patterns
- maintain something
- maintain something at something
The council must maintain the roads before winter.
She maintained a steady pace through the whole race.
Regular cleaning helps maintain the quality of the pool water.
verbtransitive
To keep saying that something is true, even when others doubt or disagree.
Grammar: Often followed by 'that' or used with 'innocence': he maintained that he was innocent.
Patterns
- maintain that something is true
- maintain your innocence
The suspect maintained that he had never met the victim.
Scientists maintain that the data support the theory.
She has always maintained her innocence.
verbtransitive
To provide money or support so that a person, house, or organization can keep going.
Grammar: Takes an object: maintain a family.
Patterns
- maintain someone
- maintain a household
He worked two jobs to maintain his children at school.
The charity maintains a shelter for stray dogs.
It costs a great deal to maintain a large estate.
Word forms
| third person singular | maintains |
|---|---|
| past tense | maintained |
| past participle | maintained |
| -ing form | maintaining |
Common combinations
- maintain a balance
- It is hard to maintain a balance between work and rest.
- maintain contact
- They maintained contact by letter for years.
- maintain order
- Officers were sent to maintain order at the match.
- maintain your innocence
- He maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
- well maintained
- The garden was well maintained.
Synonyms and how they differ
- preserve
- Preserve stresses protecting something from change or damage, while maintain stresses ongoing upkeep and effort.
- sustain
- Sustain suggests keeping something going over a long period, often against strain, and is more formal than maintain.
- insist
- Insist is stronger and implies demanding to be believed, whereas maintain is a calm, repeated claim.
- uphold
- Uphold is used for principles, laws, and decisions, while maintain fits machines, levels, and routines too.
Opposites
Word family
- maintenance noun
- the work of keeping something in good condition
- maintainable adjective
- able to be kept up or defended
- maintainer noun
- a person who looks after a system or software project
- unmaintained adjective
- not looked after
Commonly confused: maintain or remain?
maintain vs remain
Remain means to stay in a place or state without any effort, but maintain needs someone to keep it that way.
Practice
Despite the evidence, the mayor ______ that the plan was fair.
Choose one answer.
Maintain that means keep claiming something is true. Remain does not take 'that' like this, and obtained and contained do not give the right meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “maintain”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.