Remain
/rɪˈmeɪn/
Definitions
2 meaningsTo continue to be in the same state or condition; to stay in a particular place.
/rɪˈmeɪn/
To continue to be in a particular state or condition.
The questions remained unanswered.
💡 Simply: It's like when you're at a friend's house and everyone leaves, but you just *remain* there, hanging out. It's about staying in a certain condition, like 'the food remained hot.'
👶 For kids: To stay somewhere or keep being something. Like, the dog remained a puppy, even though he got bigger!
More Examples
Despite the changes, the core values remain unchanged.
She remained calm throughout the crisis.
How It's Used
"The building remained standing after the earthquake."
"The decision remained in effect until further notice."
To be left as a remainder; to still exist or be available.
/rɪˈmeɪn/
To be left over; to be available.
Only a small amount of food remained after the feast.
💡 Simply: Imagine you order a pizza and some slices are left. Those are what *remain*. It means what's left over or what's still there after something else has happened.
👶 For kids: To have some left. Like, if you eat some cookies and some cookies remain!
More Examples
What resources remain after the funding is allocated?
A few tickets remained for the concert.
How It's Used
"After the sale, only a few items remained."
"A significant portion of the budget remained unused."
Synonyms
Idioms & expressions
remain to be seen
Used to say that something is not yet certain or known.
"Whether the project will be successful remains to be seen."
From Old French *remanoir* 'to stay, dwell', from Latin *remanēre* 'to stay behind, be left', from *re-* 'again' + *manēre* 'to stay, remain'.
Commonly used in medieval literature and legal documents to indicate a state of continuing or a remaining item or person.
Memory tip
Think of the *re-* as 'again' and *main* as 'the main thing'. To remain is to keep the main thing as it is.