upkeep

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)Maintenance; 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.”

   “[…] it was unnecessary to fence off pasture from arable land, which saved a lot of labour on the upkeep of hedges and gates.”

   “The 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.”

verb

1. (British, transitive)To maintain (something) or keep it in good repair.

   “Do you know how to upkeep a boat?”

   “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.”