high-maintenanceadj.
/ˌhʌɪˈmeɪnt(ᵻ)nəns/, /ˌhʌɪˈmeɪntn̩əns/, U.S. /ˌhaɪˈmeɪnt(ə)nəns/ 1. That requires a high level of maintenance or effort.
ΚΠ
1916 Cornell Civil Engineer Apr. 343 The various types [of road] could be grouped in three classes, namely, low, medium and high maintenance types.
1969 Flying Mag. Oct. 82/1 The DME seems to be a high-maintenance item... DME failures outnumbered failures of everything else.
1991 Sassy Aug. 77/1 Long-distance relationships..are very high-maintenance.
2012 D. Park Light of Amsterdam ii. 37 It was a high-maintenance complexion seemingly requiring endless scrubbing and masking, steaming and moisturising.
2. spec. Of a person: requiring a great deal of care or attention; esp. very demanding or fussy. Cf. low-maintenance adj.
ΚΠ
1982 People Weekly 19 Apr. 143/3 An O.I. [= osteogenesis imperfecta] child is a high-maintenance child.
1985 J. Epstein in Amer. Scholar Spring 155/2 None is what I think of as a high-maintenance friend—someone, that is, who requires regular ministering to in the form of visits, daily telephone calls, or lengthy letters.
1994 M. Williamson Illuminata (new ed.) ii. v. 146 I like her, but she's too high maintenance.
2011 N. Burton et al. Little Black Bk. of Big Red Flags v. xx. 215 Generally self-centered, the danger in a high-maintenance man is that everything will always be about him.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1916