low-maintenance

adjective

Retaining proper functionality over long periods of time with little or no maintenance.

Opposite
high-maintenance
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Meanings

adjective
  1. Retaining proper functionality over long periods of time with little or no maintenance.
  2. figurativelyOf a person: self-sufficient and not requiring much attention.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
high-maintenance

Origin

According to the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, the figurative sense was popularized by the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally....

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French autonome
  • autonomeof a person: self-sufficient and not requiring much attention
German pflegeleicht, wartungsfreundlich
  • pflegeleichtretaining proper functionality over long periods of time with little or no maintenance
  • wartungsfreundlichretaining proper functionality over long periods of time with little or no maintenance
Cite this entry
APA

low-maintenance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/low-maintenance

MLA

“low-maintenance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/low-maintenance. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “low-maintenance,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/low-maintenance.

Source: low-maintenance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.