— keeperless , adj. — keepership , n.
/kee"peuhr/ , n.
1. a person who guards or watches, as at a prison or gate.
2. a person who assumes responsibility for another's behavior: He refused to be his brother's keeper.
3. a person who owns or operates a business (usually used in combination): a hotelkeeper.
4. a person who is responsible for the maintenance of something (often used in combination): a zookeeper; a groundskeeper.
5. a person charged with responsibility for the preservation and conservation of something valuable, as a curator or game warden.
6. a person who conforms to or abides by a requirement: a keeper of his word.
7. a fish that is of sufficient size to be caught and retained without violating the law.
8. Football. a play in which the quarterback retains the ball and runs with it, usually after faking a hand-off or pass.
9. something that serves to hold in place, retain, etc., as on a door lock.
10. something that lasts well, as a fruit.
11. See guard ring .
12. an iron or steel bar placed across the poles of a permanent horseshoe magnet for preserving the strength of the magnet during storage.
[ 1250-1300; ME keper. See KEEP, -ER 1 ]
Syn. 1. warden, jailer. 2. custodian, guardian.