Maintain

1. To hold or keep in any particular state or condition; to support; to sustain; to uphold; to keep up; not to suffer to fail or decline; as, to maintain a certain degree of heat in a furnace; to maintain a fence or a railroad; to maintain the digestive process or powers of the stomach; to maintain the fertility of soil; to maintain present reputation.
2. To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish.
3. To affirm; to support or defend by argument.
4. To bear the expense of; to support; to keep up; to supply with what is needed.
5. To continue; not to suffer to cease or fail.