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.
The hospital has faced a number of maintenance problems since opening, including a series of power outages in 2003.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
More than 370,000 miles of roads were built through national forests prior to the 2001 rule, with a maintenance backlog of billions of dollars.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Motor-vehicle maintenance and repair costs in the July consumer-price index were up 6.6% from a year ago, only a small slowdown from June’s sharp 7% jump.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Breeders cautioned would-be Sammy owners to consider the maintenance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
So my hair has succumbed to the lack of maintenance that exists when the world doesn’t judge you by it.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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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