maintain

Verb

maintain (third-person singular simple present maintains, present participle maintaining, simple past and past participle maintained)

1. To keep up; to preserve; to uphold (a state, condition etc.).
   • maintain contact
   • maintain order

   Synonyms:

   subsist

2. To declare or affirm (a clause) to be true; to assert.
   • Pullman traditionalists will no doubt maintain that the full-service-at-every-seat principle is popular with their clientele; [...].1962 December, “A new Pullman era?”, in Modern Railways, page 362
   • She maintains that the internet should face similar curbs to TV because young people are increasingly living online. "It's totally different, someone at Google watching the video from the comfort of their office in San Francisco to someone from a council house in London, where this video is...2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian
3. To keep in good condition and working order.
   • The admirable smoothness of the riding also reflected the greatest credit on those who, despite the difficulties caused by the shortage of men and materials, have succeeded in maintaining the track in such first-class order.1946 July and August, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 213
4. (obsolete, transitive) To support (someone), to back up or assist (someone) in an action.
   • And thenne he asked leue & wente oute of his heremytage for to mayntene his neuewe ageynst the myghty Erle and so hit happed that this man that lyeth here dede dyd so moche by his wysedome and hardynes that the Erle was take and thre of his lordes by force of this dede man.1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “j”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XV
   • When I left Mr. Bates, I went down to my Father; where, by the Aſſiſtance of him and my Uncle John, and ſome other Relations, I got forty Pounds, and a Promiſe of thirty Pounds a year to maintain me at Leyden: there I ſtudied Phyſick two years and ſeven months, knowing it would be uſeful in long...1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Gives Some Account of Himself and Family, His First Inducements to Travel. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s...
5. (intransitive, slang, African-American Vernacular) To keep composed; to keep one's head up; to stay confident, strong, self-assured; to avoid being a victim; to keep oneself from falling apart.
   • No matter what, you gotta maintain.