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.
Most have closed, casualties of rising maintenance costs, shrinking religious orders and pandemic-era disruptions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
“I find garden maintenance so relaxing,” she adds.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
American rail companies have developed world-leading technologies that can monitor track conditions in real time, deploy predictive maintenance and optimize network operations with remarkable precision.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
Still, investors should be on the lookout for any recommendations regarding the maintenance and operation of Boeing’s flagship 787 jet.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
I wasn’t about to ask him why he didn’t just ask the maintenance guys to check.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
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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