Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Upkeep \Up"keep`\, n.
   The act of keeping up, or maintaining; maintenance. ``Horse
   artillery . . . expensive in the upkeep.'' --Scribner's Mag.

         Small outlays for repairs or upkeep of buildings. --A.
                                                  R. Colquhoun.

Source : WordNet®

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}]