keep
Other forms: kept; keeping; keeps
To keep means to have and hold on to something — like to keep your wallet in your pocket. It also means to continue; if you keep hula hooping you’ll break the world record!
Keep has many senses in English, and shows up in a lot of our common expressions, like “keep out!" and "keep your shirt on!" The word generally has the senses of hold onto, maintain, stay, continue, or protect from harm. Food that will not spoil yet will keep. You can keep a secret, keep a diary, or keep your little sister safe. You can also keep a ritual or religious custom by practicing it –- like to keep kosher. Whatever you do, “just keep going.”
Definitions of keep
-
continue a certain state, condition, or activity“Keep on working!”“Keep smiling”
-
bear on, carry on, continue, preserve, uphold
keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last
-
continue
continue after an interruption
-
Antonyms:
-
discontinue
come to or be at an end
-
types:
-
hold
remain in a certain state, position, or condition
-
keep going, run on
continue uninterrupted
-
ride
continue undisturbed and without interference
-
bear on, carry on, continue, preserve, uphold
-
fail to spoil or rot
-
keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"“The students keep me on my toes”
-
types:
- show 12 types...
- hide 12 types...
-
pressurise, pressurize
maintain a certain pressure
-
bear on, carry on, continue, preserve, uphold
keep or maintain in unaltered condition; cause to remain or last
-
hold over
keep in a position or state from an earlier period of time
-
conserve
keep constant through physical or chemical reactions or evolutionary change
-
preserve
keep undisturbed for personal or private use for hunting, shooting, or fishing
-
distance
keep at a distance
-
housekeep
maintain a household; take care of all business related to a household
-
re-start, restart, resume
take up or begin anew
-
hang in, hang on, hold on, persevere, persist
be persistent, refuse to stop
-
perpetuate
cause to continue or prevail
-
keep up, prolong, sustain
lengthen or extend in duration or space
-
mummify
preserve while making lifeless
-
prevent (food) from rotting“keep potatoes fresh”
-
synonyms:
preserve
-
stay fresh
fail to spoil or rot
-
types:
- show 11 types...
- hide 11 types...
-
freeze-dry
preserve by rapid freezing and subsequently drying in a vacuum
-
conserve
preserve with sugar
-
dehydrate, desiccate
preserve by removing all water and liquids from
-
pickle
preserve in a pickling liquid
-
salt
preserve with salt
-
can, put up, tin
preserve in a can or tin
-
refrigerate
preserve by chilling
-
cure
prepare by drying, salting, or chemical processing in order to preserve
-
corn
preserve with salt
-
lyophilise, lyophilize
to dry (blood, serum, or tissue) by freezing in a high vacuum
-
dun
cure by salting
-
stay fresh
-
keep under control; keep in check“Keep your temper”“keep your cool”
-
types:
- show 23 types...
- hide 23 types...
-
hold
keep from exhaling or expelling
-
confine
prevent from leaving or from being removed
-
bottle up, inhibit, suppress
control and refrain from showing; of emotions, desires, impulses, or behavior
-
check, contain, control, curb, hold, hold in, moderate
lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits
-
bound, confine, limit, restrain, restrict, throttle, trammel
place limits on (extent or access)
-
conquer, curb, inhibit, stamp down, subdue, suppress
to put down by force or authority
-
damp
restrain or discourage
-
cabin
confine to a small space, such as a cabin
-
closet
confine to a small space, as for intensive work
-
coop in, coop up
confine in or as if in a coop
-
lock, lock away, lock in, lock up, put away, shut away, shut up
place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape
-
lock in, seal in
close with or as if with a tight seal
-
crucify, mortify, subdue
hold within limits and control
-
abnegate, deny
deny oneself (something); restrain, especially from indulging in some pleasure
-
hold back, keep back, restrain
keep under control; keep in check
-
quench
electronics: suppress (sparking) when the current is cut off in an inductive circuit, or suppress (an oscillation or discharge) in a component or device
-
choke
check or slow down the action or effect of
-
restrict
place under restrictions; limit access to
-
train
cause to grow in a certain way by tying and pruning it
-
catch
check oneself during an action
-
bate
moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
-
thermostat
control the temperature with a thermostat
-
counteract, countercheck
oppose or check by a counteraction
-
allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature“The family's fortune waned and they could not keep their household staff”“Our grant has run out and we cannot keep you on”“We kept the work going as long as we could”
-
continue, persist in
do something repeatedly and showing no intention to stop
-
continue, persist in
-
stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state“His snoring kept me from falling asleep”“Keep the child from eating the marbles”
-
synonyms:
prevent
-
Antonyms:
-
allow, let, permit
make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
-
types:
- show 21 types...
- hide 21 types...
-
defend
be on the defensive; act against an attack
-
exclude, keep out, shut, shut out
prevent from entering; shut out
-
hold
keep from departing
-
keep away
prevent from coming close
-
blank
keep the opposing (baseball) team from winning
-
hinder, impede
be a hindrance or obstacle to
-
rain out, wash out
prevent or interrupt due to rain
-
preempt
take action to prevent someone else from acting
-
curse, excommunicate, unchurch
exclude from a church or a religious community
-
bulwark
defend with a bulwark
-
protect, secure
shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage
-
ward off
avert, turn away, or repel
-
arrest, check, contain, hold back, stop, turn back
hold back, as of a danger or an enemy; check the expansion or influence of
-
block, close up, impede, jam, obstruct, obturate, occlude
block passage through
-
lock out
prevent employees from working during a strike
-
inhibit
limit, block, or decrease the action or function of
-
interfere
come between so as to be a hindrance or obstacle
-
set back
slow down the progress of; hinder
-
hobble
hamper the action or progress of
-
stunt
check the growth or development of
-
ostracise, ostracize
avoid speaking to or dealing with
-
allow, let, permit
-
hold and prevent from leaving
-
the main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress
-
examples:
-
Black Hole of Calcutta
a dungeon (20 feet square) in a fort in Calcutta where as many as 146 English prisoners were held overnight by Siraj-ud-daula; the next morning only 23 were still alive
-
type of:
-
fastness, stronghold
a strongly fortified defensive structure
-
Black Hole of Calcutta
-
a cell in a jail or prison
-
synonyms:
hold
-
type of:
-
cell, jail cell, prison cell
a room where a prisoner is kept
-
cell, jail cell, prison cell
-
retain rights to
-
retain possession of“Can I keep my old stuffed animals?”“She kept her maiden name after she married”
-
synonyms:
hold on
-
Antonyms:
-
lose
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
-
types:
- show 28 types...
- hide 28 types...
-
carry over, hold over
hold over goods to be sold for the next season
-
deny, refuse
refuse to let have
-
deduct, recoup, withhold
retain and refrain from disbursing; of payments
-
preserve, save
to keep up and reserve for personal or special use
-
hive away, lay in, put in, salt away, stack away, stash away, store
keep or lay aside for future use
-
store
find a place for and put away for storage
-
hold, hold back, keep back, retain
secure and keep for possible future use or application
-
harbor, harbour
keep in one's possession; of animals
-
enter, put down, record
make a record of; set down in permanent form
-
garner
store grain
-
bin
store in bins
-
keep back, withhold
hold back; refuse to hand over or share
-
dock
deduct from someone's wages
-
computerise, computerize
store in a computer
-
conserve, economise, economize, husband
use cautiously and frugally
-
victual
lay in provisions
-
mothball
put into long-term storage
-
reposit
put (something) in a place for storage
-
wharf
store on a wharf
-
tank
store in a tank by causing (something) to flow into it
-
loft
store in a loft
-
warehouse
store in a warehouse
-
garage
keep or store in a garage
-
bottle
store (liquids or gases) in bottles
-
ensile
store in a silo
-
hold down
keep
-
accumulate, amass, collect, compile, hoard, pile up, roll up
get or gather together
-
hive
store, like bees
-
lose
-
have as a supply
-
store or keep customarily“Where do you keep your gardening tools?”
-
type of:
-
store
find a place for and put away for storage
-
store
-
maintain for use and service
-
look after; be the keeper of; have charge of“He keeps the shop when I am gone”
-
Synonyms:
-
preserve
maintain in safety from injury, harm, or danger
-
types:
- show 4 types...
- hide 4 types...
-
conserve, keep up, maintain, preserve
keep in safety and protect from harm, decay, loss, or destruction
-
embalm
preserve a dead body
-
plastinate
preserve (tissue) with plastics, as for teaching and research purposes
-
hold the line
hold the line on prices; keep the price of something constant
-
preserve
-
raise
-
supply with necessities and support
-
supply with room and board“He is keeping three women in the guest cottage”“keep boarders”
-
type of:
-
accommodate, lodge
provide housing for
-
accommodate, lodge
-
maintain in safety from injury, harm, or danger
-
the financial means whereby one lives“each child was expected to pay for their keep”
-
synonyms:
bread and butter, livelihood, living, support, sustenance
-
types:
- show 4 types...
- hide 4 types...
-
amenities, comforts, conveniences, creature comforts
things that make you comfortable and at ease
-
maintenance
means of maintenance of a family or group
-
meal ticket
a source of income or livelihood
-
subsistence
minimal (or marginal) resources for subsisting
-
type of:
-
resource
available source of wealth; a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed
-
stick to correctly or closely
-
conform one's action or practice to“keep appointments”“she never keeps her promises”“We kept to the original conditions of the contract”
-
synonyms:
observe
-
Antonyms:
-
breach, break, go against, infract, offend, transgress, violate
act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
-
types:
-
make good
act as promised
-
breach, break, go against, infract, offend, transgress, violate
-
behave as expected during of holidays or rites
-
maintain by writing regular records
Pronunciation
US
/kip/
UK
/kip/
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
- MLA
- APA
- Chicago
Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘keep'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
Word Family
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Look up keep for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
