maintenance

noun main·te·nance \ ˈmānt-nən(t)s , ˈmān-tə-nən(t)s \

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

See maintenance defined for English-language learners

See maintenance defined for kids

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

Among those are food preparation and service, agricultural, grounds maintenance and truck driver.

— mark curnutte, Cincinnati.com, "How diversity immigrant visa brought NY attack suspect Sayfullo Saipov to US," 3 Nov. 2017
Gerald Beck, Colonial Pipeline's vice president of operations, said the company has made a number of changes to its safety, maintenance and inspection protocols in the wake of the accident and the leak that preceded it.

— dennis pillion, AL.com, "One year after deadly explosion, Colonial Pipeline 'refocused' on safety," 31 Oct. 2017
Others included shows for landscape professionals, elevator maintenance and installation experts.

— kyle arnold, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Postponed by Irma, Florida Restaurant Show returns Wednesday," 10 Oct. 2017
Factories, which have generally been on a roll since the second half of last year, recorded a 0.4% decline to C$181.43 billion, due mostly to decisions by auto makers to close plants for maintenance and retooling.

— paul vieira, WSJ, "Canadian Economy Stalls in July After Eight Months of Growth," 29 Sep. 2017
Examination of the department includes areas such as response times, the type and extent of training that personnel received, and the maintenance and testing processes for equipment, according to the ISO.

— mike nolan, Daily Southtown, "Orland fire district to receive top rating," 6 Sep. 2017
The bottom deck of the Western Hills Viaduct will be closed Saturday between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. for inspection and routine maintenance.

— sarah brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Western Hills Viaduct bottom deck to close Saturday," 18 Oct. 2017
This to-do list can help you with indoor and outdoor maintenance in prepping for the winter season.

— The Courier-Journal, "Your Fall Home Maintenance To-Do List," 11 Oct. 2017
The best ones will cost you as much as $1,000 per window and require no maintenance other than cleaning.

— roy berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, "Are My Old Wooden Windows Wasting Energy?," 8 Oct. 2017

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.