Definition of maintenance
1 : the act of maintaining : the state of being maintained : support The building has suffered from years of poor maintenance.
2 : something that maintains at least half of them are living parasitically on the other half instead of producing maintenance for themselves — G. B. Shaw
3 : the upkeep of property or equipment the maintenance of the school
4 : an officious or unlawful intermeddling in a legal suit by assisting either party with means to carry it on
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Examples of maintenance in a Sentence
Soon he could take an Underwood apart and put it together blindfolded, a trick that won him the account for maintenance of all the typewriters at Columbia-Presbyterian hospital … —Ian Frazier, Atlantic, November 1997
The new machine made the sharecropper system that had replaced slavery obsolete, and the maintenance of segregation and terror unnecessary. —C. Vann Woodward, New York Times Book Review, 24 Feb. 1991
But the apartments they actually leased sat directly across Wayne Avenue—minus the gardens and the careful maintenance that existed when white families had lived there. —Gloria Naylor, Linden Hills, 1985
The building has suffered from years of poor maintenance.
the costs of routine car maintenance
maintenance of law and order
money for the family's maintenance
Recent Examples of maintenance from the Web
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BAE Systems provides ship repair, maintenance, modernization, conversion, and overhaul for the Navy and other customers.
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The board will supervise the cleanup and maintenance of any neglected for-profit cemetery in the county.
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Under that proposal, the city of Prospect would buy about half the site for $810,000 to develop a park and a maintenance building.
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Shima Seiki covered the cost of the machine for this experiment; Ministry of Supply footed the bill for its installation and handles maintenance.
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Hitachi Zosen is offering Bertha’s leftover pieces at no charge, but users must pay for transportation, land and maintenance.
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A maintenance worker told police the alarm on the door is only triggered when it's opened.
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There is nothing quite like the look and feel of a real wood deck, but the maintenance required is often more than what most homeowners want to invest in.
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Homeowners hold shares, paying monthly fees that cover private security, trash removal, grounds maintenance and water.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'maintenance'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of maintenance
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from maintenir —see maintain
MAINTENANCE Defined for Kids
maintenance
playDefinition of maintenance for Students
1 : the act of keeping or providing for : the state of being kept or provided for One of government's jobs is the maintenance of law and order. We collected money for the family's maintenance.
2 : upkeep Workers in charge of maintenance painted the building.
Medical Dictionary
Law Dictionary
maintenance
Legal Definition of maintenance
1a : the act of providing basic and necessary support b : the state of having such support
2 : a financial means of providing necessary assistance: as a : alimony b : support
3 : the necessities of life provided for by payment of maintenance
4 : the upkeep of property or equipment
5 : unsought and unnecessary meddling in a lawsuit by assisting either party with means to carry it on — compare champerty
Learn More about maintenance
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for maintenance Spanish Central: Translation of maintenance Nglish: Translation of maintenance for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of maintenance for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about maintenance
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