maintenance

1. maintenance (noun) — sense 1

Definition: Actions performed to keep some machine or system functioning or in service.

Example: They are all preventable by proper maintenance, but non-safety critical maintenance has to be evaluated, so failures are an accepted penalty for keeping maintenance costs down.

2. maintenance (noun) — sense 2

Definition: A tort and (in some jurisdictions) an offence committed when a third party who does not have a bona fide interest in a lawsuit provides help or acquires an interest to a litigant's lawsuit.

3. maintenance (noun) — sense 3

Definition: Alimony, a periodical payment or a lump sum made or ordered to be made to a spouse after a divorce.