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.
Parents must have a child maintenance arrangement if the child is under 16, or under 20 if they are in approved education or training.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Meanwhile, planned maintenance and upgrades have to be postponed, leading to a maintenance backlog.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
And that’s even before deducting the extra costs related specifically to real estate like property taxes, condo fees, maintenance, insurance, sales commissions and so on.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The findings suggest that antineutrino detectors could eventually provide useful information not only while reactors are operating, but also during maintenance and after shutdown.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Time was unorganized except for the communal work, field labor, gardening, woodcutting, maintenance, for which transients such as myself were called on by whatever group most needed a hand.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
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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