maintenance

[meyn-tuh-nuhns]

noun

1. the act of maintaining.

   the maintenance of proper oral hygiene.

2. the state of being maintained.

   the maintenance of friendly relations with England.

3. care or upkeep, as of machinery or property.

   With proper maintenance the car will last for many years.

4. means of upkeep, support, or subsistence; livelihood.

   to provide a comfortable maintenance.

5. alimony or child support.

6. Law.,  an officious meddling in a suit in which the meddler has no interest, by assisting either party with means to prosecute or defend it.

adjective

1. Pharmacology, Psychiatry.,  administered to sustain a desired physiological or mental condition.

   maintenance dose.

maintenance

/ ˈmeɪntɪnəns /

noun

1. the act of maintaining or the state of being maintained

2. a means of support; livelihood

3. (modifier) of or relating to the maintaining of buildings, machinery, etc

   maintenance man

4. law (formerly unlawful) the interference in a legal action by a person having no interest in it, as by providing funds to continue the action See also champerty

5. law a provision ordered to be made by way of periodical payments or a lump sum, as after a divorce for a spouse

6. computing

   1. the correction or prevention of faults in hardware by a programme of inspection and the replacement of parts

   2. the removal of existing faults and the modification of software in response to changes in specification or environment

Other Word Forms

• nonmaintenance noun
• premaintenance noun
• self-maintenance noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of maintenance¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English maintenaunce, from Middle French maintenance; equivalent to maintain + -ance

Word History and Origins

Origin of maintenance¹

C14: from Old French; see _maintain

Example Sentences

With her apartment a flood zone and her landlord slacking off on the maintenance, Linda and her daughter are forced to live at a nearby hotel.

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Buying comes with added costs: maintenance, insurance, property taxes, etc.

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In its review, the Journal mirrored the industry’s practice of relying on crew reports of specific odors and associated maintenance reports.

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This year, the bulk of capital spending will be for store maintenance, instead of the restaurant overhauls the company initially envisioned.

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Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Moscow has kept oil production and exports relatively stable by focusing on the maintenance of existing fields rather than the exploration of new ones.

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Related Words

• care 
• conservation 
• preservation 
• supply 
• upkeep 

When To Use

Spelling tips for maintenance

The word maintenance is hard to spell because it is spelled differently from the way it is pronounced [ meyn-tuh-nuhns ]. How to spell maintenance: To spell maintenance, break it down into three parts: main - ten - ance. The suffix -ance means roughly "action."