keep

/kiːp/UK[kiːp]

keep verb: to continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain.

Verb

keep (third-person singular simple present keeps, present participle keeping, simple past and past participle kept)

(transitive) To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain.
- to keep silence; to keep possession
(transitive) To remain faithful to a given promise or word.
- to keep one's word; to keep one's promise
- Both day and night did we keep company.c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
Synonyms:

fullfill, hold, honor
(transitive) To maintain possession of.
- I keep a small stock of painkillers for emergencies.
- I only meant to lend him the shirt at first, but it looked better on him than me, so I told him to keep it.
Synonyms:

retain
(ditransitive, transitive) To maintain the condition of; to preserve in a certain state.
- I keep my specimens under glass to protect them.
- The abundance of squirrels kept the dogs running for hours.
Synonyms:

preserve, protect
(transitive) To record transactions, accounts, or events in.
- I used to keep a diary.
(transitive) To enter (accounts, records, etc.) in a book.
(archaic, transitive) To remain in; to be confined to.
- Metrocles somewhat indiscreetly, as he was disputing in his Schole, in presence of his auditory, let a fart, for shame whereof he afterwards kept his house and could not be drawen abroad[…].1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
- The wrathful skies / Gallow the very wanderers of the dark / And make them keep their caves.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
(transitive) To restrain.
- I keep my pet gerbil away from my brother.
- Don't let me keep you; I know you have things to be doing.
(transitive) To watch over, look after, guard, protect.
- May the Lord keep you from harm.
- cursse on thy cruell hond, / That twise hath sped; yet shall it not thee keepe / From the third brunt of this my fatall brond […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
(transitive) To supply with necessities and financially support (a person).
- He kept a mistress for over ten years.
(transitive) To raise; to care for.
- He has been keeping orchids since retiring.
- Here John had to keep cows with other boys, and they used to drive them to graze about the Nine-hills.1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 287
(transitive) To refrain from freely disclosing (a secret).
- I know that it's a secret / And that I gotta keep it / But I want the lights on / Yeah, I want the lights on2012, Anthony Reyes, Melissa Sheppard, “Leave the Lights On”, in The Bright Side, performed by Meiko

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(transitive) To maintain (an establishment or institution); to conduct; to manage.
- like a pedant that keeps a schoolc. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- They were honourably accompanied and with great estate brought to London, where euery of them kept house by himselfe.1630, John Hayward, The Life, and Raigne of King Edward the Sixt, London: John Partridge, page 114
(transitive) To have habitually in stock for sale.
(intransitive, obsolete) To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.
- She kept to her bed while the fever lasted.
- Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps, / To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge; […]c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
(intransitive) To continue.
- I keep taking the tablets, but to no avail.
- Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. […] Next day she […] tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head. Then, thwarted, the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and perhaps had spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local...1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XLIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 361
(intransitive) To remain edible or otherwise usable.
- Potatoes can keep if they are in a root cellar.
- Latex paint won't keep indefinitely.
(copulative, intransitive) To remain in a state.
- The rabbit avoided detection by keeping still.
- Keep calm! There's no need to panic.
(UK, intransitive, obsolete) To have rooms at college, at the University of Cambridge.
(obsolete) To wait for, keep watch for.
- And thenne whan the damoysel knewe certaynly that he was not syre launcelot / thenne she took her leue and departed from hym / And thenne syre Trystram rode pryuely vnto the posterne where kepte hym la beale Isoud / and there she made hym good chere and thanked god of his good spede1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter X, in Le Morte Darthur, book VIII
(intransitive) To act as wicket-keeper.
- Godfrey Evans kept for England for many years.
(intransitive, obsolete) To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.
- […] kepe that the lustes choke not the word of God that is sowen in vs,c. 1530, William Tyndale, “A Pathway into the holy Scripture”, in The Whole Workes of W. Tyndall, Iohn Frith, and Doct. Barnes, London: John Day, published 1573, page 384
(intransitive, obsolete) To be in session; to take place.
- School keeps today.
(transitive) To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; to not swerve from or violate.
- I have kept the faith: […]1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Timothy 4:7
- Be strong, live happie, and love, but first of all / Him whom to love is to obey, and keep / His great command; […]1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
(broadly, dated, transitive) To visit (a place) often; to frequent.
- […] 'tis hallowed ground;
  No Maid seeks here her strayed Cow, or Sheep,
  Fairies, and fawns, and satyrs do it keep:c. 1608, John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess, Act III, Scene 1
(dated, transitive) To observe or celebrate (a holiday).
- to keep the Sabbath
- The feast of St. Stephen is kept on December 26.
(Singapore, Wales, transitive) To put (something) back (to its original location or appropriate place); to put away.
- Please keep these books.
- […] semantic shift: e.g., to send (“to give a lift”), to keep (“to put away”), to hack (“to remove carefully,” e.g., tiles, plaster, etc.), knock (“to remove a dent from a car”), bluff (“to joke”), stay (“to live”) […]2019, Sarah Buschfeld, Children’s English in Singapore: Acquisition, Properties, and Use, →ISBN, Singapore English, page 33

Noun

keep (countable and uncountable, plural keeps)

(historical) The main tower of a castle or fortress, located within the castle walls.

Synonyms:

donjon
The food or money required to keep someone alive and healthy; one's support, maintenance.
- He works as a cobbler's apprentice for his keep.
The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case.
- to be in good keep
A cap for holding something, such as a journal box, in place.
(obsolete) The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge; notice.
- So Sir Gareth strayned hym so that his olde wounde braste ayen on bledynge; but he was hote and corragyous and toke no kepe, but with his grete forse he strake downe the knyght[…].1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum XXIII”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book VII, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer...
- Pan, thou god of shepherds all, / Which of our tender lambkins takest keep.1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “December. Ægloga Duodecima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe for Iohn Harrison the yonger, […], →OCLC
(obsolete) That which is kept in charge; a charge.
- Often he used of his keep / A sacrifice to bring.1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Iuly. Ægloga Septima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe for Iohn Harrison the yonger, […], →OCLC
(euphemistic, obsolete) A mistress (the other woman in an extramarital relationship, generally including sexual relations).
- My Darling Girl, In London the other day I heard a piece of news which may amuse you. The French girl who shot her so-called Egyptian prince and is going to be tried for murder, is the fancy woman who was the Prince's 'keep' in Paris during the war […]1923 September 9, Lord Curzon, [Letter to his wife]

Proper noun capitalized: Keep

Keep (plural Keeps)

A surname.

keep meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

keep in Hindi

to maintain possession of: रक्खना rakkhanā

keep in Tamil

to remain faithful to given word: காப்பாற்று kāppāṟṟu

keep in Marathi

to keep, raise: पाळणे pāḷṇe
to keep, reserve: राखणे rākhṇe

keep in Urdu

داشتہ, دیکھ بھال, حفاظت, پرورش, برقرار رہنا, چمٹے رہنا

More languagesFewer languages

keep in Bengali: রাখা rakha
keep in Telugu: పెట్టుకొను peṭṭukonu
keep in Malayalam: സൂക്ഷിക്കുക sūkṣikkuka, സംരക്ഷിക്കുക saṁrakṣikkuka, സംരക്ഷണം saṁrakṣaṇaṁ
keep in Kannada: ದುರ್ಗದ ಗೋಪುರ, ಕಾವಲು ಜಾಗ, ಮಡಗು, ಮಟಗು
keep in Punjabi: ਰੱਖਣਾ rakkhăṇā, رکھنا rakkhṇā
keep in Gujarati: રાખવું rākhvũ
keep in Odia: ରଖିବା rakhibā
keep in Sanskrit: पाति pāti
keep in Assamese: ৰাখা rakha, ৰখা rokha
keep in Nepali: राख्नु rākhnu, पाल्नु pālnu
keep in Pashto: ساتل
keep in Tagalog: itago, panatilihin, manatili
keep in Arabic: اِحْتَفَظَ iḥtafaẓa, أَبْقَى ʔabqā, أَخَذَ ʔaḵaḏa
keep in Indonesian: memenuhi, membayar, simpan
keep in Thai: เก็บ gèp, ไว้ wái, คอย kɔɔi, หมั่น màn
keep in Vietnamese: giữ, tiếp tục, cứ

Examples of keep in a sentence

Of course boys are boys and need watching, but there is little watching necessary when they keep chickens.1914, Robert Joos, Success with Hens, Forbes & company, page 217:
Then, thwarted, the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and perhaps had spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XLIV, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page...
If the malt be not thoroughly dried, the ale it makes will not keep.1707, John Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry:
There are two time-zones in China: the Eastern, which keeps Shanghai time, 8 hr. in advance of G.M.T.; and the Western, which keeps Kansu-Szechwan time, 7 hr. in advance of G.M.T.1944, Great Britain. Naval Intelligence Division, “Posts, Telegraphs, and Telegrams”, in China Proper: Economic Geography, Ports, and...

All 40 example sentences with keep

Synonyms of keep

All synonyms of keep

Forms of keep

Verb
third-person singular present	keeps
present participle	keeping
past participle	kept
past	kept
second-person singular present (archaic)	keepest
second-person singular past (archaic)	keptst
second-person singular past (archaic)	keptest
third-person singular present (archaic)	keepeth
alternative form (obsolete)	keepe
Noun
plural	keeps
Proper noun
plural	Keeps

Past tense of keep: kept

Plural of keep: keeps

Origin of keep

From Middle English kepen (“to keep, guard, look after, watch”), from Old English cēpan (“to seize, hold, observe”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōpijan, from Proto-Germanic *kōpijaną (“to look, heed, watch, observe”) (compare West Frisian kypje (“to look”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵab-, *ǵāb- (“to look after”) (compare Lithuanian žẽbti (“to eat reluctantly”), Russian забо́та (zabóta, “care, worry”)). The dialectal sense of the verb meaning “to put back” or “put away” may be analyzed as a semantic loan from a local language—compare Welsh cadw and Mandarin 收 (shōu).

From Middle English kepe, kep, from the verb (see above).

Words formed from keep

Phrases with keep

145 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with keep

30 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about keep

What does keep mean?: Keep means to continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain.
What is keep in Hindi?: Keep in Hindi is रक्खना (rakkhanā). See Keep meaning in Hindi.
How do you use keep in a sentence?: Of course boys are boys and need watching, but there is little watching necessary when they keep chickens.
What part of speech is keep?: Keep can be a verb, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce keep?: Keep is pronounced /kiːp/.
What is the past tense of keep?: The past tense of keep is kept.

Words near keep in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-keep.wav, en-au-keep.ogg.

Cite this entry: “keep.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/keep. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.