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, etc: maintenance man (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 champertya provision ordered to be made by way of periodical payments or a lump sum, as after a divorce for a spouse
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
main•tain /meɪnˈteɪn/USA pronunciation
v.
main•te•nance /ˈmeɪntənəns/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]See -tain-, -man-1.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- to keep in existence; preserve:[~ + object]maintained their friendship for over forty years.
- to keep in a certain condition, operation, or force:[~ + object]to maintain an even temperature.
- to state or declare:[~ + (that) clause]maintained that he had been home all night.
- to support in argument:[~ + object]maintained her innocence in spite of the evidence.
- to provide for the upkeep or support of:[~ + object]Is that salary enough to maintain a family?
main•te•nance /ˈmeɪntənəns/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]See -tain-, -man-1.
main•te•nance
(mān′tə nəns),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- the act of maintaining.
- 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. - Lawalimony or child support.
- Lawan officious meddling in a suit in which the meddler has no interest, by assisting either party with means to prosecute or defend it.
adj.
- [Pharm., Psychiatry.]administered to sustain a desired physiological or mental condition:maintenance dose.
- Middle French maintenance. See maintain, -ance
- Middle English maintenaunce 1275–1325
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged See living.
main•tain
(mān tān′),USA pronunciation v.t.
main•tain′a•ble, adj.
main•tain′a•bil′i•ty, n.
main•tain′er, n.
- to keep in existence or continuance;
preserve;
retain:to maintain good relations with neighboring countries. - to keep in an appropriate condition, operation, or force;
keep unimpaired:to maintain order; to maintain public highways. - to keep in a specified state, position, etc.:to maintain a correct posture; to maintain good health.
- to affirm;
assert;
declare:He maintained that the country was going downhill. - to support in speech or argument, as a statement or proposition.
- to keep or hold against attack:to maintain one's ground.
- to provide for the upkeep or support of;
carry the expenses of:to maintain a family. - to sustain or support:not enough water to maintain life.
- Old French maintenir
Medieval Latin manūtenēre, Latin manū tenēre literally, to hold in hand, equivalent. to manū, ablative of manus hand (see manual) + tenēre to hold (see tenet) - Middle English mainteinen 1200–50
main•tain′a•bil′i•ty, n.
main•tain′er, n.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged continue.
- 1, 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged keep up.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged asseverate. Maintain, assert, aver, allege, hold, state all mean to express an opinion, judgment, or position. Maintain carries the implications of both firmness and persistence in declaring or supporting a conviction:She maintained her client's innocence even in the face of damaging evidence.Assert suggests assurance, confidence, and sometimes aggressiveness in the effort to persuade others to agree with or accept one's position:He asserted again and again the government's right to control the waterway.Aver, like assert, implies confident declaration and sometimes suggests a firmly positive or peremptory tone; in legal use aver means "to allege as fact'':to aver that the evidence is incontrovertible.Allege indicates a statement without evidence to support it, and thus can imply doubt as to the validity or accuracy of an assertion:The official is alleged to have been unaware of the crime.Hold means simply to have or express a conviction or belief:We hold these truths to be self-evident; She held that her rights had been violated.State usually suggests a declaration that is forthright and unambiguous:He stated his reasons in clear, simple language.
- 5.See corresponding entry in Unabridged uphold, defend, vindicate, justify.
- 7.See corresponding entry in Unabridged See support.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged discontinue.
- 5.See corresponding entry in Unabridged contradict.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'maintenance man' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):