maintenance

noun

1. activity involved in maintaining something in good working order

   noun.act

   Synonyms care upkeep

   Source: WordNet 3.0

2. means of maintenance of a family or group

   noun.possession

   Source: WordNet 3.0

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

   noun.possession

   Synonyms alimony

   Source: WordNet 3.0

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

   noun.act

   Synonyms sustainment sustenance sustentation upkeep

   Source: WordNet 3.0

5. the unauthorized interference in a legal action by a person having no interest in it (as by helping one party with money or otherwise to continue the action) so as to obstruct justice or promote unnecessary litigation or unsettle the peace of the community

   noun.act

   Examples

   Unlike champerty, criminal maintenance does not necessarily involve personal profit.

   Synonyms criminal maintenance

   Source: WordNet 3.0

6. The act of maintaining; sustenance; support; defense; vindication.

   noun

   Source: webster1913