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maintain

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🇺🇸 /meɪntˈeɪn/

verb 编号: M00218 牛津3000 BNC #825 COCA #922

maintain 的核心意思是“让某种状态继续保持”，也可具体指把设备等保持在良好、正常工作的状态，或坚持声称某事为真。

💡 记忆钩子

想象用手托住一样东西，不让它掉下去：托住一个状态，就是“维持”；托住设备的正常运转，就是“保养、维护”；托住一个观点不放，就是“坚持声称”。较旧的用法还可把这种“托住”扩展为支持某个人。

📝 学习建议

先掌握“维持状态”和“保持设备正常运转”，再学习“坚持声称”。不要把 maintain 只理解成“修理”；它更强调让已有的状态持续下去。
看到它表示“声称”时，后面常接完整观点，不是单纯表示“记得”或“提到”。

📖 中文释义

verb

core 维持；保持

📖 使某种状态、水平或条件继续存在，不让它明显变差或改变。重点是“保持住”，而不是把已经损坏的东西修好。

💡 常用句型是“maintain + 状态、水平或条件”，例如表示保持秩序、平衡、健康或良好状态。宾语通常是抽象状态，也可以是具体环境；这里一般不是指暂时做到一次，而是持续保持。

Regular breaks help you maintain your concentration during long meetings.

定时休息有助于你在长时间开会时保持注意力集中。

The team worked hard to maintain a positive atmosphere.

团队努力维持积极的氛围。
common 坚持声称

📖 坚持认为某个说法是真的，即使别人可能不赞同或提出质疑。这里是用言语“托住”一个观点。

💡 常用句型是“maintain that + 完整从句”，也可以接名词短语表示坚持某种立场。这个意思较正式，新闻报道、辩论和论述中很常见；不要把它当作普通的“说”或“提到”。

She maintains that the decision was made fairly.

她坚持认为这个决定是公平作出的。
core 维护；保养

📖 通过持续照料、检查或处理，使设备、道路等保持良好状态并正常工作。这是“维持状态”在具体物品上的用法。

💡 常用句型是“maintain + 设备、设施或系统”，强调日常维护和持续保养，而不是出了故障之后才修理。它常用于技术、交通、建筑和工作场所语境；表示人时通常不用这个意思。

The building is expensive to maintain because it is so old.

这座楼太旧了，维护起来费用很高。
rare 支持；帮助

📖 旧式用法，指在行动或冲突中支持某人、替某人提供帮助；可以看作把“托住一个状态”扩展为“托住一个人”。

💡 这种用法现今通常被视为过时或历史性表达，不宜用于现代日常交流。现代英语中表示支持某人，通常改用更直接的词语。

obsolete transitive

maintains present,singular,third-person maintaining participle,present maintained participle,past maintained past

📘 英文释义 (WordNet) 共 10 组

stick to correctly or closely; ;

同义词集: observe keep maintain

The pianist kept time with the metronome

keep count

I cannot keep track of all my employees

support against an opponent

同义词集: uphold maintain

The appellate court upheld the verdict

上位: confirm, reassert 下位: justify, vindicate

state categorically

同义词集: assert asseverate maintain

上位: insist, take a firm stand 下位: allege, aver, predicate, proclaim, say

state or assert

同义词集: maintain defend

He maintained his innocence

上位: affirm

maintain by writing regular records; ;

同义词集: keep maintain

keep a diary

maintain a record

keep notes

上位: enter, put down, record

supply with necessities and support; ;

同义词集: sustain keep maintain

She alone sustained her family

The money will sustain our good cause

There's little to earn and many to keep

上位: have, have got, hold 下位: carry, patronage

maintain for use and service;

同义词集: keep maintain

I keep a car in the countryside

She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips

上位: have, have got, hold

have and exercise

同义词集: wield exert maintain

wield power and authority

上位: have, have got, hold

keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction; ; ;

同义词集: conserve preserve maintain keep up

We preserve these archeological findings

The old lady could not keep up the building

children must be taught to conserve our national heritage

The museum curator conserved the ancient manuscripts

上位: keep

cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., `keep clean'; ;

同义词集: keep maintain hold

hold in place

She always held herself as a lady

The students keep me on my toes

下位: bear on, carry on, conserve, continue, distance, preserve, uphold 参见: arrest, avoid, check, contain, delay, detain, endure, exclude, go, hold back, hold out, hold up, isolate, keep apart, keep down, keep off, keep out, keep up, last, live, live on, number, prolong, resist, sequester, sequestrate, set apart, shut, shut out, stand firm, stop, survive, sustain, turn back, withstand

🌳 词源

源自拉丁语，原义与“用手托住、握住”有关，后来发展出“维持、支持”的意思。

From Middle English mayntenen, from Old French maintenir, from Late Latin manūteneō, manūtenēre (“I support”), from Latin manū (“with/in/by the hand”, ablative of manus) + tenēre (“to hold”).

🔄 变式

maintained past maintaining present maintains present

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