high-maintenance

[ hahy-meyn-tuh-nuhns ]

/ ˈhaɪ ˈmeɪn tə nəns /

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adjective

needing frequent or major maintenance or repair: Imported sports cars are high-maintenance.

Informal. (of a person) demanding a great deal of attention, money, or effort: His high-maintenance girlfriend refuses to get engaged without a big diamond ring.

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Origin of high-maintenance

First recorded in 1915–20 for def. 1; 1980–85 for def. 2; high + maintenance

Words nearby high-maintenance

high liver, high-low, high-low-jack, highly, highly strung, high-maintenance, High Mass, high milling, high-minded, Highmore's body, high-muck-a-muck

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use high-maintenance in a sentence

If anything the work the two cops and the maintenance guy were doing deserves more respect and probably helped a lot more people.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Eric Garcetti succeeded Villaraigosa and has received high marks in his first year and a half on the job.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But no more so than the Sodexo building maintenance man or the two cops who were also killed in the crossfire.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Nor does the jet have the ability to capture high-definition video, utilize an infra-red pointer.
Pentagon Misfires in Stealth Jet Scandal|Dave Majumdar|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Obsessive exercising and inadequate nutrition can, over time, put people at high risk for overuse injuries like stress fractures.
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models|Carrie Arnold|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Honour the physician for the need thou hast of him: for the most High hath created him.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
The most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
The Majesty on high has a colony and a people on earth, which otherwise is under the supremacy of the Evil One.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
In cross-section the burrows varied from round (three inches in diameter) to oval (three inches high and four inches wide).
Summer Birds From the Yucatan Peninsula|Erwin E. Klaas
As Spain, however, has fallen from the high place she once held, her colonial system has also gone down.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for high-maintenance

high-maintenance

adjective

(of a piece of equipment, motor vehicle, etc) requiring regular maintenance to keep it in working order

informal (of a person) requiring a high level of care and attention; demanding

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012