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.
Participants were randomly assigned to different treatment groups, allowing researchers to evaluate a range of starting doses, dose-escalation approaches, and maintenance doses.
From Science Daily • Jun. 15, 2026
They have hired landscapers and housekeepers to handle maintenance and upkeep.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026
Air India says repairs were "carried out in accordance with Boeing-approved maintenance procedures" and that "the aircraft was returned to service only after applicable airworthiness requirements had been satisfied".
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
“I find garden maintenance so relaxing,” she adds.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
He gave one of the armorers a lecture about the importance of good maintenance.
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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