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.
In addition to being more expensive to build, nuclear ships have higher maintenance costs, Clark said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
Participants largely maintained their higher activity levels throughout the maintenance phase, averaging 8,241 steps per day by the end of the studies.
From Science Daily • May 11, 2026
Construction, maintenance and shipping businesses have sprung up, along with secondary businesses that support the industry.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
On its website, Instructure said Thursday afternoon that it had put Canvas “in maintenance mode.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
We cross the maintenance parking lot, dodging debris.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
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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