upkeep — English Dictionary

Noun

1. Maintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good and working condition.

   Usage

   • Uncountable
   • usually

   Examples

   I would enjoy having a swimming pool, but I don't want to deal with the upkeep.

   […] it was unnecessary to fence off pasture from arable land, which saved a lot of labour on the upkeep of hedges and gates.

   More examples (1)

   The story of upkeep has been never-ending. Between 1997-2000, a major programme of maintenance entailed replacing superstructure timbers - 50 main rail beams were replaced with greenheart, along with a similar number of edge beams.

Verb

1. To maintain (something) or keep it in good repair.

   Usage

   • UK usage
   • Transitive

   Examples

   Do you know how to upkeep a boat?

   As for the city's buildings, it mostly resembled a town of white spires and cobblestone streets lined with flowerbeds that were upkept by magical means.

Noun

1. activity involved in maintaining something in good working order

   Synonyms

   caremaintenance

   Broader terms

   repairfixfixingfixturemendmendingreparation

   Examples

   he wrote the manual on car care

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

   Synonyms

   sustenancesustentationsustainmentmaintenance

   Broader terms

   support

   Examples

   they were in want of sustenance

   fishing was their main sustainment