maintenance

[ meyn-tuh-nuh ns ]

/ ˈmeɪn tə nəns /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR maintenance ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act of maintaining: the maintenance of proper oral hygiene.

the state of being maintained: the maintenance of friendly relations with England.

care or upkeep, as of machinery or property: With proper maintenance the car will last for many years.

means of upkeep, support, or subsistence; livelihood: to provide a comfortable maintenance.

alimony or child support.

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

Pharmacology, Psychiatry. administered to sustain a desired physiological or mental condition: maintenance dose.

Nearby words

mainstreeting, maintain, maintained school, maintainer, maintainor, maintenance, maintenance and cure, maintenance drug therapy, maintenance of membership, maintenance-free, maintenon

Origin of maintenance

1275–1325; Middle English maintenaunce < Middle French maintenance. See maintain, -ance

Related forms

non·main·te·nance, nounpre·main·te·nance, nounself-main·te·nance, noun

Synonym study

4. See living.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for maintenance

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
Further, there are maintenance crews who have to fix those drones.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says|Dave Majumdar|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But they have high fixed costs—overhead, maintenance, staff, and power.
Solar Powered Ski Lift|The Daily Beast|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After construction, the pipeline would employ about 50 people, primarily for maintenance.
Fact-Checking the Sunday Shows: November 16|PunditFact.com|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Pulling engineers from the Super Hornet program then led to a maintenance backlog on that program too, sources said.
Navy Grounds Top Guns|Dave Majumdar|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This increase was excessive and altogether unnecessary to the maintenance of thorough and progressive government.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, May, 1900|Various
The maintenance of the laws was, as in other Grecian cities, committed to the nomophylaces.
A Manual of Ancient History|A. H. L. (Arnold Hermann Ludwig) Heeren
For fortune it is, as well as ability, which go to the making of the man and the maintenance of his power.
Machiavelli, Volume I|Niccol Machiavelli
The ingredients are mingled with a nice discrimination between the rights of the palate and the maintenance of health.
The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened|Kenelm Digby
Everything they eat and drink seems devoted to the maintenance of their sexual nature.
What a Young Husband Ought to Know|Sylvanus Stall

British Dictionary definitions for maintenance

maintenance

/ (ˈmeɪntɪnəns) /

noun

the act of maintaining or the state of being maintained

a means of support; livelihood

(modifier) of or relating to the maintaining of buildings, machinery, etcmaintenance man

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

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

computing

the correction or prevention of faults in hardware by a programme of inspection and the replacement of parts
the removal of existing faults and the modification of software in response to changes in specification or environment

Word Origin for maintenance

C14: from Old French; see maintain

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

Medicine definitions for maintenance

maintenance

[ mān′tə-nəns ]

n.

The extent to which a patient continues good health practices without professional supervision, as distinguished from adherence or compliance.

maintenance

noun

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of maintenance

Related forms

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for maintenance

British Dictionary definitions for maintenance

maintenance

noun

Word Origin for maintenance

Medicine definitions for maintenance

maintenance

n.