maintenance
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.
Pharmacology, Psychiatry. administered to sustain a desired physiological or mental condition: maintenance dose.
Origin of maintenance
1Other words from maintenance
- non·main·te·nance, noun
- pre·main·te·nance, noun
- self-main·te·nance, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use maintenance in a sentence
The proper aim of such a settlement should have been security, self-maintenance, and peace with all men.
The Lily and the Totem | William Gilmore SimmsBut it is just as true of the species as of the individual that it lives for itself, and looks above all to self-maintenance.
The Wonders of Life | Ernst HaeckelThe children assert the right of self-government, because they bear the burden of self-maintenance.
To prepare the blind for self-maintenance, there should be an equally careful study of the ability of each child.
There are four millions of slaves in the southern States, none of whom have any capacity for self-maintenance or self-control.
North America, Volume I (of 2) | Anthony Trollope
British Dictionary definitions for maintenance
/ (ˈmeɪntɪnəns) /
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, etc: maintenance 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 action: See 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
Origin of maintenance
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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