(remains, remaining, remained)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
If someone or something remains in a particular state or condition, they stay in that state or condition and do not change.
The three men remained silent...
The government remained in control...
He remained a formidable opponent...
It remains possible that bad weather could tear more holes in the tanker's hull.
V-LINK: V adj, V prep, V n, it V adj that/to-inf/wh
2.
If you remain in a place, you stay there and do not move away.
He will have to remain in hospital for at least 10 days...
VERB: V prep, also V
3.
You can say that something remains when it still exists.
The wider problem remains...
VERB: V
4.
If something remains to be done, it has not yet been done and still needs to be done.
Major questions remain to be answered about his work...
V-LINK: V to-inf-passive
5.
The remains of something are the parts of it that are left after most of it has been taken away or destroyed.
They were tidying up the remains of their picnic.
N-PLURAL: usu the N of n
6.
The remains of a person or animal are the parts of their body that are left after they have died, sometimes after they have been dead for a long time.
The unrecognizable remains of a man had been found...
N-PLURAL: usu with supp
7.
Historical remains are things that have been found from an earlier period of history, usually buried in the ground, for example parts of buildings and pieces of pottery.
There are Roman remains all around us.
N-PLURAL: usu supp N
8.
You can use remain in expressions such as the fact remains that or the question remains whether to introduce and emphasize something that you want to talk about.
The fact remains that inflation is unacceptably high...
The question remains whether he was fully aware of the claims.
V-LINK: V that, V wh
9.
10.
If you say that it remains to be seen whether something will happen, you mean that nobody knows whether it will happen.
It remains to be seen whether her parliamentary colleagues will agree.
PHRASE: usu it PHR whether [vagueness]