Word.ws English Dictionary

keeping vigil

keeping vigil is the present participle and gerund of keep vigil.

Meaning of keep vigil

Verb

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

  1. To wait and watch, especially overnight.
    • Sven, for the most part, stayed in the backdrop hovering nervously near the parlor window, where he now kept vigil for newly arriving guests .2013, John E. Rawson, Blind Vigil, page 102
  2. To observe the deceased overnight.
    • Rafael died this morning, and this afternoon we are going to keep vigil over him.
    Synonyms:
    have a wake

Questions about keeping vigil

What is keeping vigil the present participle and gerund of?
Keeping vigil is the present participle and gerund of keep vigil.

Words near keeping vigil in the dictionary

  1. keeping up
  2. keeping up appearances
  3. keeping up with
  4. keeping up with the Joneses
  5. keeping up with the times
  6. keeping vigil
  7. keeping watch
  8. keeping wicket
  9. keeping-room
  10. keeping-rooms
  11. keepings

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: keeping vigil (page history and authors); keep vigil (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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