low-maintenance

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a noun

   Needing little care, repair, or attention to keep working or looking good.

   Grammar: Used before a noun: 'a low-maintenance garden'. It can also follow the verb 'be' without a hyphen: 'The garden is low maintenance.'

   Patterns

   • a low-maintenance product
   • be low-maintenance
   • low-maintenance hair

   They chose a low-maintenance garden with stones and small bushes.

   This car is low-maintenance and cheap to run.

   Her short haircut is very low-maintenance.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nouninformal

   Of a person: easy to be with and not needing much attention or emotional support.

   Grammar: Informal; usually describes a partner, friend, or employee.

   Patterns

   • a low-maintenance friend
   • be low-maintenance

   He says he wants a low-maintenance partner who enjoys simple things.

   She is low-maintenance and never complains about small problems.

Common combinations

low-maintenance garden

A low-maintenance garden is perfect for busy people.

low-maintenance hair

She wanted low-maintenance hair, so she cut it short.

low-maintenance car

Older electric cars are surprisingly low-maintenance.

low-maintenance pet

A goldfish is a low-maintenance pet for a child.

relatively low-maintenance

The building is relatively low-maintenance compared with older ones.

Synonyms and how they differ

easy-care

Very close in meaning but used mostly for clothes and fabrics, not for people.

undemanding

Often describes people or jobs; it focuses on not asking for much, while 'low-maintenance' focuses on needing little care.

Opposites

Word family

maintenance noun

The work of keeping something in good condition.

maintain verb

To keep something in good condition or make it continue.

Commonly confused: low-maintenance or high-maintenance?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “low-maintenance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words