[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

upkeep \up"keep`\, n.
   1. the act of keeping up, or maintaining; maintenance of
      persons, organizations, or objects such as machinery, by
      providing a location, repairs, and consumable items when
      necessary. "horse artillery . . . expensive in the
      upkeep." --scribner's mag.
      webster 1913 suppl. +pjc

            small outlays for repairs or upkeep of buildings.
                                                  --a. r.
                                                  colquhoun.
      webster 1913 suppl.

   2. the cost of providing upkeep1.
      pjc

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

upkeep
     n 1: activity involved in maintaining something in good working
          order; "he wrote the manual on car care" syn: care, maintenance
     2: the act of sustaining life by food or providing a means of
        subsistence; "they were in want of sustenance"; "fishing
        was their main sustainment" syn: sustenance, sustentation,
         sustainment, maintenance
see also:
care maintenance sustenance sustentation sustainment 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

64 moby thesaurus words for "upkeep":
   tlc, aid, backing, bread, care, carriage, carrying, conservancy,
   conservation, conservationism, daily bread, economic support,
   endowment, environmental conservation, expenditure,
   forest conservation, forest management, keep, keeping, livelihood,
   living, maintenance, manna, meat, moral support, mothering,
   nourishment, nurture, operating costs, operation, outlay, overhead,
   preserval, preservation, price support, protection, provision,
   psychological support, reliance, repair, running, safekeeping,
   salvage, salvation, saving, security blanket, soil conservation,
   stream conservation, subsidization, subsidy, subsistence,
   subvention, support, supportive relationship, supportive therapy,
   sustaining, sustainment, sustenance, sustentation,
   tender loving care, upholding, water conservation,
   wetlands conservation, wildlife conservation

Upkeep >> U Words
Upkeep, definition of term: Upkeep
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