keeper
Other forms: keepers
A keeper is someone who is responsible for something, especially a property or a lot of animals. A keeper might take care of a big summer house during the winter months.
You can use keeper to mean "caretaker," someone whose job involves maintaining a house, farm, estate, or grounds. The keeper of a golf course might, for example, keep the greens tidy and groomed. It's also shorthand for zookeeper, or a person who cares for the animals in a zoo. Since about 1300, keeper has meant "one who has charge of some person or thing." It comes from keep and its Old English root cepan, "seize or hold."
Definitions of keeper
-
one having charge of buildings or grounds or animals
-
types:
- show 14 types...
- hide 14 types...
-
caretaker
a custodian who is hired to take care of something (property or a person)
-
conservator, curator
the custodian of a collection (as a museum or library)
-
game warden, gamekeeper
a person employed to take care of game and wildlife
-
greenskeeper
someone responsible for the maintenance of a golf course
-
house sitter
a custodian who lives in and cares for a house while the regular occupant is away (usually without an exchange of money)
-
janitor
someone employed to clean and maintain a building
-
lighthouse keeper
the keeper of a lighthouse
-
critter sitter, pet sitter
someone left in charge of pets while their owners are away from home
-
zoo keeper
the chief person responsible for a zoological garden
-
concierge
a French caretaker of apartments or a hotel; lives on the premises and oversees people entering and leaving and handles mail and acts as janitor or porter
-
sacristan, sexton
an officer of the church who is in charge of sacred objects
-
super, superintendent
a caretaker for an apartment house; represents the owner as janitor and rent collector
-
verger
a church officer who takes care of the interior of the building and acts as an attendant (carries the verge) during ceremonies
-
warrener
maintains a rabbit warren
-
someone in charge of other people“am I my brother's keeper?”
-
types:
- show 7 types...
- hide 7 types...
-
baby farmer
someone who runs an establishment that houses and cares for babies for a fee
-
baby minder, babyminder, minder
a person who looks after babies (usually in the person's own home) while the babys' parents are working
-
baby-sitter, babysitter, sitter
a person engaged to care for children when the parents are not home
-
gaoler, jailer, jailor, prison guard, screw, turnkey
someone who guards prisoners
-
nanny, nurse, nursemaid
a person who is the custodian of children
-
dry nurse
a nurse who cares for but does not suckle an infant
-
amah, wet nurse, wet-nurse, wetnurse
a woman hired to suckle a child of someone else
Pronunciation
US
/ˈkipər/
UK
/ˈkipə/
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 ‘keeper'.
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 keeper for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the words you need to know.
