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. See champerty
   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 Words From

• non·mainte·nance noun
• pre·mainte·nance noun
• self-mainte·nance 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

A lot of those emails, he says, are from school principals whose maintenance staff says the school should spend tens of thousands of dollars on high-tech HVAC systems.

From Quartz

You were happy because you dwell on my costs—in gas, vehicle maintenance, air quality, and lives—without appreciating the benefits I provide.

From Fortune

In the months since the pandemic cratered the price of oil, the financial fallout has spread from drilling companies to refineries and oilfield maintenance companies.

From Quartz

Right now, 25 percent of the franchise fee goes toward an environmental growth fund that’s supposed to help pay for park maintenance.

From Voice of San Diego

A separate site in Kearny Mesa, which the city began leasing in 2017 as a fire truck maintenance yard, has yet to service any actual fire trucks.

From Voice of San Diego

If anything the work the two cops and the maintenance guy were doing deserves more respect and probably helped a lot more people.

From The Daily Beast

But no more so than the Sodexo building maintenance man or the two cops who were also killed in the crossfire.

From The Daily Beast

Further, there are maintenance crews who have to fix those drones.

From The Daily Beast

But they have high fixed costs—overhead, maintenance, staff, and power.

From The Daily Beast

After construction, the pipeline would employ about 50 people, primarily for maintenance.

From The Daily Beast

It was never the intention of the Federal Reserve Act that member banks should continue the maintenance of these reserve accounts.

From Project Gutenberg

That, in the light of present conditions, is the most important thing for the necessary maintenance and defense of these islands.

From Project Gutenberg

It also authorised the construction and maintenance, as p. 150part of such railways, of any pier, quay or jetty.

From Project Gutenberg

Ordinarily the motive of the wrongdoer is not material in determining his maintenance of a nuisance.

From Project Gutenberg

They were instructed in all kinds of trades, were housed, married, and their whole maintenance provided for.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• care
• conservation
• preservation
• supply
• upkeep

How Do You Spell Maintenance?

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.”

When To Use

What are other ways to say maintenance?

Maintenance refers to care or upkeep, as of machinery or property, or to the means of upkeep, support, or subsistence. How is maintenance different from living and livelihood? Find out on Thesaurus.com.