| 1. | to keep in existence or continuance; preserve; retain: to maintain good relations with neighboring countries. |
| 2. | to keep in an appropriate condition, operation, or force; keep unimpaired: to maintain order; to maintain public highways. |
| 3. | to keep in a specified state, position, etc.: to maintain a correct posture; to maintain good health. |
| 4. | to affirm; assert; declare: He maintained that the country was going downhill. |
| 5. | to support in speech or argument, as a statement or proposition. |
| 6. | to keep or hold against attack: to maintain one's ground. |
| 7. | to provide for the upkeep or support of; carry the expenses of: to maintain a family. |
| 8. | to sustain or support: not enough water to maintain life. |
