maintenance

/ˈmeɪnt(ə)nəns/

//ˈmeɪnt(ə)nəns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"maintenance" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“maintenance” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,741. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,741
frequency rank, English
36,575
“M” headwords
17
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Actions performed to keep some machine or system functioning or in service.

Corpus desk

Index EN-maintenance · maintenance · English

maintenance · rank #2,741 · 17 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,741
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 36,575
  • PHOTO-FINISH legislation

Nearest frequency peer: legislation (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “maintenance”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “maintenance” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for maintenance
PropertyValue
Headwordmaintenance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈmeɪnt(ə)nəns/
Letters11
Frequency rank#2,741
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “maintenance” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). maintenance lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around maintenance (IPA /ˈmeɪnt(ə)nəns/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,741 among 36,575 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for maintenance, with forms such as "amintenance", "mainetnance", and "mainntenance". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English mayntenaunce, from Old French maintenance, from maintenir, from Latin manus tenēre (“to hold in the hand”). By surface analysis, maintain + -ance. Note that maintain has undergone a sound and spelling change, hence is spelt with -tain-, … The correct English form is maintenance, spelled M-A-I-N-T-E-N-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Actions performed to keep some machine or system functioning or in service.
  2. 2
    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. 3
    Alimony, a periodical payment or a lump sum made or ordered to be made to a spouse after a divorce.
  4. 4
    Child support.
  5. 5
    Money required or spent to provide for the needs of a person or a family.
  6. 6
    The natural process which keeps an organism alive.
  7. 7
    Ellipsis of maintenance medicine.
  8. 8
    Software updates that fix bugs and improve stability rather than adding new features.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how maintenance appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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. From Pond to Pond he roamed, from moor to moor; / Housing, with God's good help, by choice or chance: / And in this way he gained an honest maintenance.

Etymology

From Middle English mayntenaunce, from Old French maintenance, from maintenir, from Latin manus tenēre (“to hold in the hand”). By surface analysis, maintain + -ance. Note that maintain has undergone a sound and spelling change, hence is spelt with -tain-, rather than the -ten- still found in maintenance.

This word in other languages

mantenimiento(Español)entretien(Français)Instandhaltung(Deutsch)manutenção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amintenance
  • mainetnance
  • mainntenance
  • mainteannce
  • maintenacne
  • maintenancce
  • maintenanec
  • maintenannce
  • maintenence
  • maintennace
  • maintennance
  • maintneance
  • mainttenance
  • maitnenance
  • manitenance
  • miantenance
  • mmaintenance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of maintenance - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

amintenance2mainetnance2mainntenance1mainteannce2maintenacne2maintenancce1maintenanec2maintenannce1
Edit distance from "maintenance"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "maintenance"?
"maintenance" is spelled M-A-I-N-T-E-N-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmeɪnt(ə)nəns/.
What does "maintenance" mean?
As a noun, "maintenance" means: Actions performed to keep some machine or system functioning or in service.
What are common misspellings of "maintenance"?
Common misspellings include "amintenance", "mainetnance", "mainntenance", "mainteannce", "maintenacne". The correct spelling is "maintenance".
How do you pronounce "maintenance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "maintenance" is /ˈmeɪnt(ə)nəns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "maintenance"?
From Middle English mayntenaunce, from Old French maintenance, from maintenir, from Latin manus tenēre (“to hold in the hand”). By surface analysis, maintain + -ance. Note that maintain has undergone a sound and spelling change, hence is spelt wit... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "maintenance", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

legislation#2,740experiences#2,733personality#2,750advertising#2,771

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

perspective17 variantsconstantly17 variantsrepresented17 variantsautomatically17 variants
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list