noun
- the act of maintaining: the maintenance of proper oral hygiene.
- the state of being maintained: the maintenance of friendly relations with England.
- care or upkeep, as of machinery or property: With proper maintenance the car will last for many years.
- means of upkeep, support, or subsistence; livelihood: to provide a comfortable maintenance.
- alimony or child support.
- Law. an officious meddling in a suit in which the meddler has no interest, by assisting either party with means to prosecute or defend it.
adjective
- Pharmacology, Psychiatry. administered to sustain a desired physiological or mental condition: maintenance dose.
noun
- the act of maintaining or the state of being maintained
- a means of support; livelihood
- (modifier) of or relating to the maintaining of buildings, machinery, etcmaintenance man
- law (formerly unlawful) the interference in a legal action by a person having no interest in it, as by providing funds to continue the actionSee also champerty
- law a provision ordered to be made by way of periodical payments or a lump sum, as after a divorce for a spouse
- computing
- the correction or prevention of faults in hardware by a programme of inspection and the replacement of parts
- the removal of existing faults and the modification of software in response to changes in specification or environment
n.mid-14c., “bearing, deportment,” from Old French maintenance “upkeep; shelter, protection,: from maintenir (see maintain). Meaning “action of upholding or keeping in being” is from early 15c. “Action of providing a person with the necessities of life” is from late 14c. n.
- The extent to which a patient continues good health practices without professional supervision, as distinguished from adherence or compliance.