What does maintain mean?
Word: Maintain
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Maintain means to keep something working well or going on as it is.
Synonyms: sustain
How do you spell maintain?
Syllables: main - tain
Tricky part: The first syllable has a long a sound, and the i after the a is easy to drop.
Watch out for: mantain, mentain, meintain
Memory tip: You keep an eye on anything you maintain, so keep the i that follows the first a.
Maintain in a sentence
Example 1: Cycling twice a week helps Grandpa maintain his fitness.
Example 2: Railway staff maintain the tracks all through the monsoon.
Example 3: The two schools have maintained a friendly cricket rivalry for forty years.
Fun Fact
The word came through French from the Latin phrase manu tenere, to hold in the hand. Keeping a bicycle in good order is, at root, keeping it in hand.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
maint__n
a) a, i
b) e, i
c) a, y
d) e, a
Show answer
a) a, i. The second syllable matches contain and remain.
Mingle-Mangle
The jumbled word in the sentence hides a real word. Choose it:
Our neighbour knows how to iamntnai an old scooter so that it runs like new.
a) mountain
b) maintain
c) mainland
d) fountain
Show answer
b) maintain. Mountain and fountain each need a u and an o, and mainland needs an l and a d.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. renovate 2. maintain 3. retreive 4. restore
a) to find something and get it back
b) to repair and improve an old building
c) to keep a thing in good running order
d) to return something to its earlier condition
Show answer
a) to find something and get it back. Retrieve takes ie in the middle, and the list prints those two letters the other way round.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word maintain as used in the sentence:
Our caretaker helps to maintain the school garden through the long summer holidays.
a) protect
b) tend
c) neglect
d) preserve
Show answer
c) neglect. Looking after the garden is the opposite of ignoring it, and that is what neglect means.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which task would help a family maintain their car?
a) telling their friends how much it cost
b) painting a picture of it for the wall
c) changing the oil at regular intervals
d) parking it next to a neighbour's car
Show answer
c) changing the oil at regular intervals
2. If a runner wants to maintain her speed, what does she try to do?
a) hold the same pace throughout
b) slow down well before the end
c) stop and rest on every lap
d) go faster at every single bend
Show answer
a) hold the same pace throughout
