I. ˈkēp verb
( kept ˈkept ; kept ; keeping ; keeps )
Etymology: Middle English kepen to observe, heed, seek, seize, keep, from Old English cēpan to observe, heed, seek, seize; akin to Old English capian to look, Old Saxon kapōn, Old High German chapfēn to look, Old Norse kōpa to stare, and perhaps to Russian zabota care, worry
transitive verb
1.
a. : to observe or fulfill (something prescribed or obligatory) : adhere to or not swerve from or violate (as a faith) : practice or perform as a duty : not neglect : be faithful to (as a promise): as
(1) : to notice with due, approved, or customary actions and feelings : act fittingly in relation to by refraining from anything inappropriate or unsuitable
keeping a Sabbath day by ceasing from all work — H.G.Cowan
(2) : to conform to in habits or conduct (as by regular attendance to or the performance of appropriate duties) or adjust one's schedule of activities to include
keep chapel
keep early hours
(3) : to act (as in playing an instrument, singing, marching) in accord with (as a preestablished time, tempo, or rhythm)
asked the musicians to keep time with the metronome
could not keep the tricky rhythm of the Latin-American dance
b. : to reside at a British university long enough to complete the requirements of (a term) ; especially : to eat a sufficient number of dinners in hall at the Inns of Court to make (a term) count for the purpose of being called to the bar
2. : preserve , maintain : as
a. : to watch over and defend especially from danger, harm, or loss
prayed God to keep and help his family
anxious to keep his son from illness and accident
his sanguine nature kept him from worry
b.
(1) : to have the care of : be responsible for : tend
the shepherd boy kept sheep on the moors at night
kept a garden for his parents
was paid to keep the furnace
(2) : to support by providing with a home, food, clothing, or other requisites of existence
the foster parents kept the child for a year until his real parents could be found
(3) : to maintain in a good, fitting, or orderly condition
objected to keeping the house
a meticulously kept orchard
(4) : to maintain habitually by undertaking the expense of
what sort of table do they keep — Jane Austen
c. : to continue to maintain : not cease from or intermit
keep silence
keep guard over the child
d.
(1) : to cause to remain in a given place, situation, or condition : maintain unchanged : hold or preserve in a particular state
keep valuables under lock and key
kept all perishable food cold
keep a person waiting
— often used with a following prepositional phrase or adverb indicating place or direction
kept the boys away from the house
kept the top of the box down with weights
kept the dog in the house
kept the children in
kept the cat out
keep the birds off the antenna
(2) : to preserve (food) in an unspoiled condition
keep meat by packing it in ice
keep potatoes in storage in a cool cellar
e.
(1) : to have or retain in one's service or in an established position or relationship
keep a maid and a butler
keeps two assistants
— often used with on
kept the cook on until she could find a new employer
(2) : to possess (as a domestic animal) usually for certain services or advantages
keeps a horse
keeps several head of cattle
(3) : to maintain in exchange for sexual favors
never married but kept a mistress for several years
found the woman was keeping a man several years her junior
(4) : to control totally the policy, principles, and ideas of (as a newspaper) by one's money or economic power
a kept press
f.
(1) : to maintain a record in (as of daily occurrences or transactions)
keep a journal
keep books for a business firm
(2) : to enter (as an account or record) in a book
g. : to have customarily in stock for sale
bought the best sherry the store kept
3.
a. : to restrain from departure or removal : not let go of : hold , detain
keep him as a prisoner for a week
kept the children after school for disobedience
nothing to keep me in the hot city
b. : to hold back : restrain , prevent
tried to keep him from going out at night
nothing kept him from going through with it
c. : save , reserve , store
asked the grocer to keep a good cut of beef for her each week
kept the hardest questions until the end of the examination
d. : to refrain from communicating, revealing, or betraying : not divulge
keep a secret
keep his counsel
4.
a. : to retain or continue to have in one's possession or power especially by conscious or purposive policy
were able to conquer the island but were unable to keep it
found the money and figured he could keep it
the court decided the couple could keep the child
b. : withhold
kept most of his inheritance from him
kept the sad news from the parents
c. : to have in control : not lose
keep one's temper
5. : to keep to
ill and keeps her room — Jane Austen
with a cold that has left her weak, so that she has kept the house for over a fortnight — O.W.Holmes †1935
6.
a. : to continue in (as a course) : not deviate from
keep the path rather than strike off through the woods
keep the center of the road
b. : to stay or remain on or in usually against opposition
keep your seat
keep the saddle despite the bucking of the horse
keep the field under fire
kept his ground even though attacked again and again
7.
a. : conduct , manage
keep a meeting
: carry on
keep a business
the chairman was not there to keep the yearly assembly
kept a small tearoom
b. archaic : to keep up
c. : to make out or manage in respect to the welfare of (oneself)
how have you been keeping yourself
8. : to associate with (company)
concerned about the company she was keeping
9. dialect England : to frighten or scare away (birds)
intransitive verb
1. now Britain : live , lodge
could not find where the man kept in town
2.
a. : to maintain a course, direction, or progress : persevere in going
keep along the main route for 10 miles
kept to the south all day
b. : to continue usually without interruption a particular action
the fire kept burning all night
keep smiling
— often used with on
kept on talking until he was told to stop
c. : to persist resolutely or stubbornly in a practice or a course of action often in spite of opposition or warning : continue firmly or obstinately
keeps asking us to go swimming
— often used with on
kept on drinking after the doctor told him to stop
3.
a. : to stay or remain (as in a particular place or condition)
keep in the house if it rains
the wind kept to the east
keep in a happy frame of mind
keep out of the way
keep in touch with friends
kept warm with blankets and hot soup
kept clean by washing daily
b. : to be in regard to health
how are you keeping
c. : to keep up
was unable to keep with the older boys on the hike
it follows the herring schools and sometimes keeps with them for days — F.G.Kay
4. : abstain , refrain
couldn't keep from talking
5.
a. : to remain in good condition : not go bad or deteriorate
the food will keep for a long time under refrigeration
knowledge does not keep any better than fish — A.N.Whitehead
b. : to remain undivulged
knew the secret would keep if he told nobody
c. : to call for no immediate action
the matter will keep until morning when we can see a lawyer
6. : to be or remain in session
school keeps five days a week
7. : to keep wicket
Synonyms:
keep , keep ( back ), keep ( out ), retain , detain , withhold , reserve , hold , and hold ( back ) can mean, in common, not to relinquish one's possession, custody, or control. keep is the most general term, carrying the common meaning
keep one's car for another year
keep one's balance
keep one's right to vote
keep ( back ) is interchangeable with any of the remaining terms
keep back a part of an employee's pay
keep back a person who wants to rush out into a storm
keep back some tickets for a friend
keep ( out ) applies to the keeping of some portion of a whole
keep out a part of a week's pay for emergencies
retain implies continued keeping especially against a threatened taking or loss
retain one's possessions even in war
retain one's sanity
retain control of a company
detain implies a delay in letting go from one's control
detain a man suspected of a crime
detain a ship in quarantine
withhold implies a delay in letting go or a refusal to give or let go
withhold information
withhold payments on a house
withhold one's help
reserve implies either a keeping in store or withholding from present use especially for some future or special need or purpose
reserve a certain percentage for emergencies
reserve a space in a house for a playroom
reserve seats at an opera
hold and hold ( back ) are often used in place of withhold or keep ( back ) and sometimes in place of detain or reserve when restraint in letting go is implied
hold a portion of a week's pay as a fine
hold a person suspected of a crime
hold back some tickets that are on sale as a favor to a friend
hold one's condemnation until a later date
hold back one's judgment until all the evidence has been considered
Synonyms:
observe , celebrate , solemnize , commemorate : keep , along with others in this set, can mean the noticing or honoring of a day or occasion fittingly or duly. keep is rather mild in its implications and may suggest merely a customary or wonted notice without anything untoward or inappropriate; it implies opposition to break
his build was all compact, for force, well-knit … he kept no Lent to make him meager — John Masefield
observe may indicate a heightened solemnity, attention to correct details, and a proper attitude
knowing that the usual ritual would have to be observed — T.B.Costain
New Hampshire observes one holiday not possessed by any other state — American Guide Series: New Hampshire
In today's English and especially in nonreligious contexts celebrate is likely to suggest notice of an occasion by festivity or indulgence
celebrate New Year's Eve
celebrating a friend's good fortune
many parties celebrating a football victory
solemnize is likely to carry a contrasting suggestion, that of grave dignity or splendid ceremony
mysterious rites were solemnized, and … of those terrific idols some received such dismal service — William Wordsworth
this blessed day ever … shall be kept festival: to solemnize this day the glorious sun stays in his course — Shakespeare
commemorate stresses the idea of remembrance and suggests observance or ceremony, or a symbol or monument designed to ensure against forgetfulness and oblivion
the first time it had ever been rung to commemorate the death of a monarch — New Yorker
their six children all died in early youth, and the Bradleys determined to commemorate them by founding an educational institution — Marie A. Kasten
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- keep an eye on
- keep at
- keep bach
- keep cases
- keep company
- keep (one) company
- keep cut
- keep face
- keep faith
- keep hands off
- keep house
- keep mind
- keep one's end up
- keep one's feet
- keep one's hand in
- keep pace
- keep standing
- keep step
- keep the field
- keep the peace
- keep to
- keep to oneself
- keep wicket
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English kep, keep, from kepen to keep — more at keep
1. archaic : heed , notice — usually used in the phrases give keep, take keep
2. : the act of keeping or the state of being kept: as
a. archaic : custody , guard , charge
b. : maintenance
3. : one that keeps or protects: as
a. : stronghold , fortress , castle ; specifically : the strongest and securest part of a medieval castle often used as a place of residence especially during a siege
b. : keeper
has been made the keep of an anticritical defensive system — F.R.Leavis
c. : prison , jail
d. : a cap or other mechanical device for retaining anything in place ; specifically : a light iron casting resting on the hanger at the bottom of a locomotive axle box to keep the lubricating pad in position
4.
a. : the means or provisions by which one is kept
the horse was hardly worth its keep
b. Britain : pasture for grazing or the grass in such pasture
c. : a conditioning tonic or regimen for game cocks
5. keeps plural but singular in construction : a game of marbles played for keeps
6. : a football play in which the quarterback fakes a pass but keeps the ball and runs with it
Synonyms: see living
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- for keeps