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 Midwest is in a particularly bad fuel crunch, because some refineries are offline for maintenance or hampered by other issues.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
Bombardier’s services unit, which handles global maintenance, repair, overhaul and customer-support work for its business-jet fleet, has become one of the company’s fastest-growing and highest-margin businesses, providing a steady stream of recurring revenue.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
What we weren’t privy to were those alleged mood swings she mentioned in her breakup post, part of the silent caretaking women perform alongside other household maintenance.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026
As Judge Leon noted in his opinion, “Congress has continued to authorize and fund construction and maintenance at the White House up until the present day.”
From Slate • Apr. 30, 2026
The local aircraft maintenance team came to the rescue.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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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