| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
maintenance (ˈmeɪntɪnəns) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the act of maintaining or the state of being maintained |
| 2. | a means of support; livelihood |
| 3. | (modifier) of or relating to the maintaining of buildings, machinery, etc: maintenance man |
| 4. | law See also champerty (formerly unlawful) the interference in a legal action by a person having no interest in it, as by providing funds to continue the action |
| 5. | law a provision ordered to be made by way of periodical payments or a lump sum, as after a divorce for a spouse |
| 6. | computing |
| a. the correction or prevention of faults in hardware by a programme of inspection and the replacement of parts | |
| b. the removal of existing faults and the modification of software in response to changes in specification or environment | |
| [C14: from Old French; see | |
maintenance main·te·nance (mān'tə-nəns)
n.
The extent to which a patient continues good health practices without professional supervision, as distinguished from adherence or compliance.