maintain

present singular third person maintains · participle present maintaining · participle past maintained · past maintained

1. To keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state, condition etc.).First known use 14th c.

   maintain order

   5 more examples

   maintain contact

   maintain a relationship

   It’s important to maintain good posture while sitting.

   She struggled to maintain her composure under pressure.

   Ther[idamas]. Won with thy words, & conquered with thy lookes, I yeeld my ſelfe, my men & horſe to thee: To be partaker of thy good or ill, As long as life maintaines Theridimas.

   c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii

   Synonyms: subsist

2. To declare or affirm (a clause) to be true; to assert.First known use 15th c.

   Pullman traditionalists will no doubt maintain that the full-service-at-every-seat principle is popular with their clientele; [...].

   1962 December, “A new Pullman era?”, in Modern Railways, page 362

   2 more examples

   She maintains that the internet should face similar curbs to TV because young people are increasingly living online. "It's totally different, someone at Google watching the video from the comfort of their office in San Francisco to someone from a council house in London, where this video is happening right outside their front door."

   2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian

   Rail Minister Lord Hendy was quizzed by the same MPs at an earlier hearing. He maintained that the Bill gave Mayors "much enhanced power" and preserved the existing processes by which rail services can be devolved. "The intention, more widely, is to work collaboratively with all devolved leaders to meet local needs," he said. "It has to be tempered by the reality, which is that the railway network is not generally consistent with mayoral boundaries. […]".

   2026 March 18, Peter Plisner, “Will devolution deliver real local control?”, in RAIL, number 1057, page 47

3. 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.

   1946 July and August, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 213

4. obsoletetransitiveTo support (someone), to back up or assist (someone) in an action.First known use 14th–19th c.

   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.

   "And then he asked leave, and went out of his hermitage for to maintain his nephew against the mighty earl; and so it happed that this man that lieth here dead did so much by his wisdom and hardiness that the earl was taken, and three of his lords, by force of this dead man."

   1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “j”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XV

   1 more example

   When I left Mr. Bates, I went down to my Father; where, by the Aſſiſtance of him and my Uncle John, and ſome other Relations, I got forty Pounds, and a Promiſe of thirty Pounds a year to maintain me at Leyden: there I ſtudied Phyſick two years and ſeven months, knowing it would be uſeful in long Voyages.

   1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Gives Some Account of Himself and Family, His First Inducements to Travel. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), page 2

5. intransitiveslangAfrican-American VernacularTo 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.