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5 dictionary results for: maintain

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

main·tain

[meyn-teyn] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object)

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.

[Origin: 1200–50; ME mainteinen < OF maintenir ≪ ML manūtenére, L manū tenére lit., to hold in hand, equiv. to manū, abl. of manus hand (see manual) + tenére to hold (see tenet)

]

—Related forms

main·tain·a·ble, adjective

main·tain·a·bil·i·ty, noun

main·tain·er, noun

—Synonyms 1. continue. 1, 2. keep up. 4. asseverate. Maintain, assert, aver, allege, hold, state all mean to express an opinion, judgment, or position. Maintain carries the implications of both firmness and persistence in declaring or supporting a conviction: She maintained her client's innocence even in the face of damaging evidence. Assert suggests assurance, confidence, and sometimes aggressiveness in the effort to persuade others to agree with or accept one's position: He asserted again and again the government's right to control the waterway. Aver, like assert, implies confident declaration and sometimes suggests a firmly positive or peremptory tone; in legal use aver means “to allege as fact”: to aver that the evidence is incontrovertible. Allege indicates a statement without evidence to support it, and thus can imply doubt as to the validity or accuracy of an assertion: The official is alleged to have been unaware of the crime. Hold means simply to have or express a conviction or belief: We hold these truths to be self-evident; She held that her rights had been violated. State usually suggests a declaration that is forthright and unambiguous: He stated his reasons in clear, simple language. 5. uphold, defend, vindicate, justify. 7. See support.

—Antonyms 1. discontinue. 5. contradict.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

main·tain (mān-tān') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. main·tained, main·tain·ing, main·tains

To keep up or carry on; continue: maintain good relations.
To keep in an existing state; preserve or retain: maintain one's composure.
To keep in a condition of good repair or efficiency: maintain two cars.
1. To provide for; support: maintain a family.
2. To keep in existence; sustain: enough food to maintain life.
To defend or hold against criticism or attack: maintained his stand on taxes.
To declare to be true; affirm: maintained her innocence.
To adhere or conform to; keep: maintain a busy schedule.

[Middle English maintainen, from Old French maintenir, from Medieval Latin manutenēre, from Latin manū tenēre, to hold in the hand : manū, ablative of manus, hand; see man-² in Indo-European roots + tenēre, to hold; see ten- in Indo-European roots.]

main·tain'a·bil'i·ty n., main·tain'a·ble adj., main·tain'er n.

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Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
maintain

c.1250, "to practice habitually," from Anglo-Fr. meintenir (O.Fr. maintenir), from L. manu tenere "hold in the hand," from manu, abl. of manus "hand" (see manual) + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Meaning "to carry on, keep up" is from c.1350; that of "to keep oneself, to support" is from 1375. Sense of "to defend in speech" is from 1340.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

maintain
verb
1.	keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"; "hold in place"; "She always held herself as a lady"; "The students keep me on my toes" [syn: keep]
2.	keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction; "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" [syn: conserve]
3.	supply with necessities and support; "She alone sustained her family"; "The money will sustain our good cause"; "There's little to earn and many to keep" [syn: sustain]
4.	state categorically [syn: assert]
5.	have and exercise; "wield power and authority" [syn: wield]
6.	maintain for use and service; "I keep a car in the countryside"; "She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips" [syn: keep]
7.	maintain by writing regular records; "keep a diary"; "maintain a record"; "keep notes" [syn: keep]
8.	state or assert; "He maintained his innocence"
9.	support against an opponent; "The appellate court upheld the verdict" [syn: uphold]
10.	stick to correctly or closely; "The pianist kept time with the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of all my employees" [syn: observe]

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Maintain

Main*tain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Maintained; p. pr. & vb. n. Maintaining.] [OE. maintenen, F. maintenir, properly, to hold by the hand; main hand (L. manus) + F. tenir to hold (L. tenere). See Manual, and Tenable.]

1. To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation.

2. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish.

God values . . . every one as he maintains his post. --Grew.

3. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail.

Maintain talk with the duke. --Shak.

4. To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed.

Glad, by his labor, to maintain his life. --Stirling.

What maintains one vice would bring up two children. --Franklin.

5. To affirm; to support or defend by argument.

It is hard to maintain the truth, but much harder to be maintained by it. --South.

Syn: To assert; vindicate; allege. See Assert.

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