Meanings
plural upkeeps
- uncountableusuallyMaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good and working condition.
I would enjoy having a swimming pool, but I don't want to deal with the upkeep.
2 more examples
[…] it was unnecessary to fence off pasture from arable land, which saved a lot of labour on the upkeep of hedges and gates.
1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLCThe story of upkeep has been never-ending. Between 1997-2000, a major programme of maintenance entailed replacing superstructure timbers - 50 main rail beams were replaced with greenheart, along with a similar number of edge beams.
2020 August 12, Andrew Mourant, “The tide is turning for a Victorian wonder”, in Rail, page 51
present singular third person upkeeps · participle present upkeeping · participle past upkept · past upkept
- UKtransitiveTo maintain (something) or keep it in good repair.
Do you know how to upkeep a boat?
1 more example
As for the city's buildings, it mostly resembled a town of white spires and cobblestone streets lined with flowerbeds that were upkept by magical means.
2014, James Blackthorne, Meditations of Madness: The Lost Empires Exposed
Synonyms & antonyms
nounactivity involved in maintaining something in good working order
nounthe act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of subsistence
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian поддръжка, поддържам
- поддръжка (poddrăžka)maintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- поддържам (poddăržam)to maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
Danish vedligehold, vedligeholde
- vedligeholdmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- vedligeholdeto maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
Dutch onderhoud
- onderhoudmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
Esperanto bontenado
- bontenadomaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
Finnish huolto, kunnossapito
- huoltomaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- kunnossapitomaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- ylläpitomaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- huoltaato maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
- pitää kunnossato maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
French entretien
- entretienmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
German Wartung, Instandhaltung
- Wartungmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- Instandhaltungmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- Unterhaltmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- Pflegemaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- wartento maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
- instandhaltento maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
- unterhaltento maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
- pflegento maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
Italian manutenzione, manutenere
- manutenzionemaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- manutenereto maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
Latin tuitiō
- tuitiōmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
Norwegian Bokmål vedlikehold
- vedlikeholdmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
Portuguese manutenção
- manutençãomaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
Russian обслу́живание, содержа́ние
- обслу́живание (obslúživanije)maintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- содержа́ние (soderžánije)maintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- содержа́ть в исправности (soderžátʹ v ispravnosti)to maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
- проводить техническое обслуживание (provoditʹ texničeskoje obsluživanije)to maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
Slovak údržba
- údržbamaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
Spanish mantenimiento, manutención
- mantenimientomaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- manutenciónmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- mantenciónmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- mantenerto maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
Swedish underhåll, sköta om
- underhållmaintenance; the act or effort of keeping something in good repair
- sköta omto maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
- ta hand omto maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
- underhållato maintain (something) or keep it in good repair
Cite this entry
upkeep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upkeep
“upkeep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upkeep. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “upkeep,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/upkeep.
Source: upkeep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.