maintenance
noun
main·te·nance
ˈmānt-nən(t)s 
ˈmān-tə-nən(t)s
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
G. B. Shaw3
: 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
Synonyms
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 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
Ian Frazier, Atlantic, November 1997
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 on the Web
The unit also comes with a hefty $17,495 monthly maintenance fee, as well as a concierge, doorman, resident super and manager, and the privilege of paying for access to the adjacent members-only River Club offering an athletic club with a pool, tennis and squash courts, a gym and restaurant.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 19 Sep. 2023
Although the heavy rainfall in Libya is unusual and rare even factoring in climate change, the report highlighted poor dam maintenance, land use, armed conflict and political instability as factors that all played a significant role in the humanitarian disaster.
—Jon Haworth, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2023
Patrick Breen, the maintenance supervisor, said that’s not enough to care for the agency’s 589 units, many of which were built 60 to 70 years ago.
—Todd Wallack, ProPublica, 19 Sep. 2023
Part of the reason for the overhaul is the city’s declining ability to afford upgrades to its parking infrastructure, such as lot-repaving and garage maintenance, said Division of Parking Facilities Commissioner Kim Johnson.
—Courtney Astolfi, cleveland, 18 Sep. 2023
The company in August said its Smart FM property management AI tool is now being used in 1 billion square feet of client space across more than 20,000 sites to better keep track of maintenance requests and process building data.
—Mitchell Parton, Dallas News, 18 Sep. 2023
For now, Bungie is working on a fix and doesn’t appear to be ready to take Destiny 2 offline for emergency maintenance or even rollback servers.
—Tom Warren, The Verge, 15 Sep. 2023
Jones’s Texas lake house, which is his second home, cost him nearly $6,700 in July, including maintenance and property taxes, the filing says.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
In recent months, the Voice of San Diego reported that the international plant, which is on the U.S. side of the border, had fallen into serious disrepair, in part because of the lack of maintenance.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023
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Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 19 Sep. 2023
Although the heavy rainfall in Libya is unusual and rare even factoring in climate change, the report highlighted poor dam maintenance, land use, armed conflict and political instability as factors that all played a significant role in the humanitarian disaster.
—Jon Haworth, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2023
Patrick Breen, the maintenance supervisor, said that’s not enough to care for the agency’s 589 units, many of which were built 60 to 70 years ago.
—Todd Wallack, ProPublica, 19 Sep. 2023
Part of the reason for the overhaul is the city’s declining ability to afford upgrades to its parking infrastructure, such as lot-repaving and garage maintenance, said Division of Parking Facilities Commissioner Kim Johnson.
—Courtney Astolfi, cleveland, 18 Sep. 2023
The company in August said its Smart FM property management AI tool is now being used in 1 billion square feet of client space across more than 20,000 sites to better keep track of maintenance requests and process building data.
—Mitchell Parton, Dallas News, 18 Sep. 2023
For now, Bungie is working on a fix and doesn’t appear to be ready to take Destiny 2 offline for emergency maintenance or even rollback servers.
—Tom Warren, The Verge, 15 Sep. 2023
Jones’s Texas lake house, which is his second home, cost him nearly $6,700 in July, including maintenance and property taxes, the filing says.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
In recent months, the Voice of San Diego reported that the international plant, which is on the U.S. side of the border, had fallen into serious disrepair, in part because of the lack of maintenance.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'maintenance.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing maintenance
Dictionary Entries Near maintenance
Cite this Entry
“Maintenance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maintenance. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
maintenance
noun
main·te·nance
ˈmānt-nən(t)s
-ᵊn-ən(t)s
1
: the act of maintaining : the state of being maintained
maintenance of law and order
money for the family's maintenance
2
: something that maintains
3
: the care of property or equipment
workers in charge of maintenance
Medical Definition
maintenance
adjective
main·te·nance
ˈmānt-nən(t)s, -ᵊn-ən(t)s
: designed or adequate to maintain a patient in a stable condition : serving to maintain a gradual process of healing or to prevent a relapse
a maintenance dose
maintenance chemotherapy
Legal Definition
maintenance
noun
main·te·nance
1
a
: the act of providing basic and necessary support
b
: the state of having such 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
More from Merriam-Webster on 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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