Dictionary
main•tain
Pronunciation: (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.