maintenance
Usage
What are other ways to say maintenance?
Generally, maintenance refers to care or upkeep, as of machinery or property. But sometimes, maintenance refers to what is spent for the living of another: to provide for the maintenance or support of someone. Maintenance occasionally refers to the allowance itself provided for livelihood: They are entitled to a maintenance from this estate. Living and livelihood (a somewhat more formal word), both refer to what one earns to keep (oneself) alive, but are seldom interchangeable within the same phrase: to earn one's living; to threaten one's livelihood. “To make a living” suggests making just enough to keep alive, and is particularly frequent in the negative: You cannot make a living out of that. “To make a livelihood out of something” suggests rather making a business of it: to make a livelihood out of knitting hats.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If it works in people, it could become more like a maintenance therapy, repeated at intervals to keep the eye's protective systems active.
From Science Daily • May 27, 2026
Their role is shifting from implementation to governance, from configuration to architecture, from maintenance to judgment.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
Ground rents are paid for the right to occupy the land on which a building sits and are separate to service charges, which cover the management and maintenance of a building.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
Trimming the number of flights Delta is planning to fly, in response to high fuel prices, could help provide more buffer and leave more time for maintenance, executives said in their messages.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
They had a very long way to go still, but they flew without pause except for essential maintenance, and the commander, the Afric King Ogunwe, kept in twice-daily touch with the basalt fortress.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Vocabulary lists containing maintenance
Freak the Mighty
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Declaration of the Rights of Woman (1791)
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Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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