Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As perennials and beehives slowly establish themselves, the environment will begin to stabilize, and a large section of the campus will become self-maintaining, if not self-sustaining.

From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2022

“A realistic portrayal should convey that therapy isn’t required only when there is a crisis situation at hand, and that therapy can be used as a proactive, self-maintaining strategy,” said Pierre-Smith.

From Washington Post • Nov. 23, 2021

And we’re off and running in a self-maintaining cycle of anger and distance.

From Salon • Sep. 4, 2012

A cynical explanation favored in cybernetic circles: "Nowhere else can you obtain a self-maintaining computer with built-in judgment, which can be mass-produced by unskilled labor -and by people who like their work so well."

From Time Magazine Archive

I would rather," he declared, "be an expert self-maintaining gardener than a Milton, for I could not unite both.

From A Day with Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Byron, May Clarissa Gillington