Word.ws English Dictionary

kept score

kept score is the simple past and past participle of keep score.

Meaning of keep score

Verb

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

  1. To keep track of the score in a game.
  2. (broadly, figuratively) To keep track of figures, numbers, or other details in various other contexts.
    • Too many of us are attempting to "prove" our manhood by the tired heterosexual method of "keeping score".1977 April 30, Steven Blevins, “Sexism in the Bars, Baths, and Bushes”, in Gay Community News, page 5
    1. (broadly, figuratively) To monitor and assess the actions and conduct of others, including potential infringements, conflicting objectives, or notable interactions, across interpersonal, political, and broader social domains, encompassing both offline and digital environments.
      • What I've learned I'm not really sure / Oh so many times / I've stopped keeping score / Traces and faces and people I meet / Seem to be a circle that just repeats1974, Ashford & Simpson, “Over To Where You Are”, in I Wanna Be Selfish

Questions about kept score

What is kept score the simple past and past participle of?
Kept score is the simple past and past participle of keep score.

Words near kept score in the dictionary

  1. kept out of
  2. kept pace
  3. kept quiet
  4. kept rank
  5. kept schtum
  6. kept score
  7. kept shtum
  8. kept sight of
  9. kept someone company
  10. kept someone guessing
  11. kept someone honest

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: kept score (page history and authors); keep score (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.

Last updated:

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