Dictionary![]() ![]() main•tainPronunciation: (mān-tān'), [key] —v.t. 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. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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