Maintaining

How to spell maintaining

11 letters · 3 syllables

8 of the 100 people asked to spell maintaining in Spelling Garden got it wrong the first time.

The most common mistake is maintaning. The letters people get wrong are highlighted.

maintaning maintaining

What people typed instead

• maintaning3 people

How to pronounce maintaining

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does maintaining mean?

1. verbCausing something to continue or keeping it in good condition over time.

Maintaining in a sentence

• Maintaining a regular sleep schedule improved her concentration at work.

• The landlord is responsible for maintaining the heating system in good repair.

Where does maintaining come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the present participle of 'maintain', which English took from the Old French maintenir during the 1200s. That French verb descended from the Latin phrase manu tenere, which literally meant 'to hold in the hand', built from manus 'hand' and tenere 'to hold'. The original idea of physically holding something firmly broadened into the senses of upholding, defending, and keeping something going. The same tenere root sits inside relatives like 'contain', 'retain', and 'tenant', while the manus part survives in words such as 'manual' and 'manufacture'. The spelling trap is the unstressed 'ai' in the first syllable, which the ear barely registers and which writers often shorten by mistake.

How the word is built

• main- (from manu: hand)
• -tain (from tenere: to hold)
• -ing (present participle suffix)