The maintenance of a building, vehicle, road, or machine is the process of keeping it in good condition by regularly checking it and repairing it when necessary.
...maintenance work on government buildings.
The window had been replaced last week during routine maintenance.
...car maintenance lessons.
2. uncountable noun
Maintenance is money that someone gives regularly to another person to pay for the things that the person needs.
...the government's plan to make absent fathers pay maintenance for their children.
Synonyms: allowance, living, support, keep More Synonyms of maintenance
3. uncountable noun
If you ensure the maintenanceof a state or process, you make sure that it continues.
...the maintenance of peace and stability in Asia. [+ of]
...the importance of natural food to the maintenance of health.
Synonyms: continuation, carrying-on, continuance, support More Synonyms of maintenance
More Synonyms of maintenance
maintenance in British English
(ˈmeɪntɪnəns)
noun
1.
the act of maintaining or the state of being maintained
2.
a means of support; livelihood
3. (modifier)
of or relating to the maintaining of buildings, machinery, etc
maintenance man
4. law
(formerly unlawful) the interference in a legal action by a person having no interest in it, as by providing funds to continue the action
See also champerty
5. law
a provision ordered to be made by way of periodical payments or a lump sum, as after a divorce for a spouse
6. computing
a.
the correction or prevention of faults in hardware by a programme of inspection and the replacement of parts
b.
the removal of existing faults and the modification of software in response to changes in specification or environment
Word origin
C14: from Old French; see maintain
maintenance in American English
(ˈmeɪntənəns)
noun
1.
a maintaining or being maintained; upkeep, support, defense, etc.; specif., the work of keeping a building, machinery, etc.in a state of good repair
2.
means of support or sustenance; livelihood
a job that barely provides a maintenance
3. Law
the act of interfering unlawfully in a suit between others by helping either party, as by giving money, to carry it on
Word origin
ME maintenaunce < OFr maintenance
Examples of 'maintenance' in a sentence
maintenance
And under Grand Central Station there's a whole maze of maintenance sheds and storage rooms.
Carey, M. V. THE TRAIL OF TERROR (THE THREE INVESTIGATORS MYSTERIES NO 39) (1987)
In other languages
maintenance
British English: maintenance /ˈmeɪntɪnəns/ NOUN
The maintenance of a building, road, vehicle, or machine is the process of keeping it in good condition.
They can no longer afford the car's high maintenance costs.