maintain

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

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

maintainability main·tain'a·bil'i·ty n.
maintainable main·tain'a·ble adj.
maintainer main·tain'er n.

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verb

1. To persevere in some condition, action, or belief: keep, retain, stay with. See continue/stop/pause.
2. To keep in a condition of good repair, efficiency, or use: keep up, preserve, sustain. See keep/release.
3. To supply with the necessities of life: keep, provide for, support. Idioms: take care of. See care for/neglect.
4. To support against arguments, attack, or criticism: apologize, defend, justify, vindicate. Idioms: speak up for, stand up for, stick up for. See support/oppose.
5. To put into words positively and with conviction: affirm, allege, argue, assert, asseverate, aver, avouch, avow, claim, contend, declare, hold, say, state. Idioms: have it. See affirm/deny/argue.

v

Definition: assert, claim; argue for
Antonyms: condemn, deny, desert, discard, forget

v

Definition: care for, keep up
Antonyms: ignore, neglect

v. 1. hold (a position) in the face of attack or competition: the objective to maintain the position until reinforcements arrive.

2. keep (a military unit) supplied with equipment and other requirements.

maintainability n. maintainable adj.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

To continue, to support, to sustain, 192 N.Y.S. 2d 342, 344; to hold or keep in any particular state or condition, 243 F. 2d 927, 931; in terms of “maintaining” a nuisance, includes both knowledge of the nuisance and preserving and continuing its existence by some positive act or by acquiescence. 256 N.Y.S. 2d 467, 469.
Compare maintenance.

(DOD) When used in the context of deliberate planning, the directed command will keep the referenced operation plan, operation plan in concept format, or concept summary, and any associated Joint Operation Planning and Execution System (JOPES) automated data processing files active in accordance with applicable tasking documents describing the type and level of update or maintenance to be performed. General guidance is contained in JOPES, Volumes I and II. See also archive; retain.

IN BRIEF: To hold or preserve in any particular state or condition.

Today . . . we know that all living beings who strive to maintain life and who long to be spared pain — all living beings on earth — are our neighbors. — Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)

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i. The ability of equipment to meet operational objectives with a minimum expenditure of maintenance effort under the operational and environmental conditions in which scheduled and unscheduled maintenance is performed.
ii. Quantitatively, the probability that an item will be restored to specified conditions within a given period of time when maintenance is performed in accordance with prescribed procedures and resources.

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For a list of words related to maintain, see:

• Modes and Manners of Expression - maintain: assert as true; affirm in agreement

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See words rhyming with "maintainer."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Maintain.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - vedligeholde, opretholde, bevare

idioms:

• well maintained    godt vedligeholdt

Nederlands (Dutch)
in stand houden, handhaven, beweren, verdedigen, onderhouden, volhouden

Français (French)
v. tr. - maintenir, subvenir aux besoins de, entretenir (une armée), garder (un mode de vie), entretenir (qch), continuer à affirmer, soutenir que

idioms:

• well maintained    bien entretenu

Deutsch (German)
v. - wahren, aufrechterhalten, unterhalten, behaupten, instand halten, unterstützen

idioms:

• well maintained    in gutem Zustand, auf aktuellem Stand

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - διατηρώ, συντηρώ, διατρέφω, τρέφω, κρατώ, διατείνομαι, ισχυρίζομαι, υποστηρίζω

idioms:

• well maintained    καλοσυντηρημένος, καλοδιατηρημένος

Italiano (Italian)
mantenere, asserire, insistere, continuare

Português (Portuguese)
v. - manter, afirmar

idioms:

• well maintained    bem conservado

Русский (Russian)
поддерживать, сохранять, обслуживать

idioms:

• well maintained    содержащийся в образцовом порядке

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - mantener, conservar, afirmar, sostener, cuidar, guardar, persistir en, continuar con

idioms:

• well maintained    en buen estado, bien conservado

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - upprätthålla, underhålla, försvara, försörja, vidhålla

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
维持, 使继续, 保持, 维修, 保养

idioms:

• well maintained    保养得好

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 維持, 使繼續, 保持, 維修, 保養

idioms:

• well maintained    保養得好

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 유지하다, 지속하다, 주장하다, 지키다, 부양하다

idioms:

• well maintained    잘 유지된

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 維持する, 保全する, 主張する, 養う, 守る, 継続する, 支持する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يحافظ‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮המשיך, תחזק, פרנס, תמך, שמר, החזיק, התמיד, טען, עמד על דעתו‬

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