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View synonyms for

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

/ ˈɪԳɪəԲ /

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

“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
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Other Word Forms

  • nonmaintenance noun
  • premaintenance noun
  • self-maintenance noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of maintenance1

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

Origin of maintenance1

C14: from Old French; see maintain
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

As the young women marched, several Latino maintenance workers snaked a power hose across the Federal Building steps, paying no mind to the heavily-armed National Guard soldiers as they sprayed away graffiti.

From

MV Caledonian Isles was initially taken out of service in January last year after routine annual maintenance revealed serious steel corrosion.

From

The zoo initially announced it was closed on Tuesday due to "an urgent maintenance issue", Belfast Live reported before it was later confirmed that E.coli had been detected.

From

"Anything is on the table and if that helps in terms of the betterment and maintenance of Test cricket then absolutely we should be looking at doing that," Barclay said.

From

It could lead to the protection of wildlife corridors — for mountain lions, bears and other local critters — as well as better maintenance of trails, according to supporters.

From

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When To Use

Spelling tips formaintenance

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."

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maintainormaintenance and cure