HOW TO PRONOUNCE
maintenance
/ˈmeɪntənəns/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:57
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The middle vowel can be very light or absent.
The main stress is at the beginning. The IPA shows a fuller three-syllable form and a shorter one; neither gives the middle of the word a strong beat.
3 syllables · Stress on syllable 1
Also listed with 2 syllables.
TRY SAYING
“The bridge is closed for maintenance.”
APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗What does maintenance mean?
noun
- Actions performed to keep some machine or system functioning or in service.
- 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.
- Alimony, a periodical payment or a lump sum made or ordered to be made to a spouse after a divorce.
More meanings (5)
noun
- Child support.
- Money required or spent to provide for the needs of a person or a family.
- The natural process which keeps an organism alive.
- Ellipsis of maintenance medicine.
- Software updates that fix bugs and improve stability rather than adding new features.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/ˈmeɪntənəns/
Pronunciation used in the listening tip.
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
It cannot be denied that the effects of this extreme license of the press tend indirectly to the maintenance of public order.
The maintenance of the people employed in them is kept at home, and only the surplus part of their work is exported.
More book examples (3)
Emma was gratified, to observe such a proof in her of strengthened character, and refrained from any allusion that might endanger its maintenance.
For instance, there will be no objection to field recreations or any outdoor exercises which conduce to the maintenance of health and spirits.
A greater force Gustavus Adolphus was unwilling to carry into Germany, and even the maintenance of this exceeded the revenues of his kingdom.