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mainsail
mainsheet
mainspring
mainstay
mainstream
mainstreaming
mainstreeting
maintain
maintenance
maintenance bond
maintenance requirement
Mainz
maiolica
maisonette
maistry
maitake
Maitland
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maintenance

main·te·nance [ máyntənənss ]


noun 
Definition:
 
1. continuing repair work: work that is done regularly to keep a machine, building, or piece of equipment in good condition and working order ( often used before a noun )
We take the car in for maintenance every six months.

2. upkeep: the general condition of something with respect to repairs
a car in a poor state of maintenance

3. continuation of something: the continuation or preservation of something unchanged or unimpaired
The maintenance of our security depends on constant vigilance.

4. provision of financial support: the provision of enough money to ensure a reasonable standard of living
responsible for the maintenance of two retired parents

5. means of support: the money that somebody has to pay to ensure a reasonable standard of living
couldn't get by without the maintenance provided by their daughter

6. law interference in legal action: unlawful interference in a lawsuit by an outsider who provides one party with the means to carry on the action

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