maintenance

英 ['meɪnt(ə)nəns; -tɪn-] 美['mentənəns]

• n. 维护，维修；保持；生活费用

1. activity involved in maintaining something in good working order;

"he wrote the manual on car care"

2. means of maintenance of a family or group

3. court-ordered support paid by one spouse to another after they are separated

4. the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence;

"they were in want of sustenance"

"fishing was their main sustainment"