Keep

Verb

 * 1)  to maintain possession of
 * I keep a small stock of painkillers for emergencies.
 * 1)  to maintain the condition of
 * I keep my specimens under glass to protect them.
 * 1)  To remain in, to be confined to
 * 2) * 1605, William Shakespeare, King Lear, III.ii,
 * The wrathful skies / Gallow the very wanderers of the dark / And make them keep their caves.
 * 1)  to wait for, keep watch for
 * 2) * 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VIII:
 * And than Sir Trystrames rode prevayly unto the posterne where kepte hym La Beale Isode, and there she made hym grete chere, and thanked God of his good spede.
 * 1)  to restrain
 * I keep my brother out of trouble by keeping him away from his friends and hard at work.
 * 1)  to protect, guard (someone from something)
 * 2) * 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.viii:
 * cursse on thy cruell hond, / That twise hath sped; yet shall it not thee keepe / From the third brunt of this my fatall brond [...].
 * May the Lord keep you from harm.
 * 1)  to continue
 * I keep taking the tablets, but to no avail.
 * 1)  to remain edible or otherwise usable
 * Potatoes can keep if they are in a root cellar.
 * Latex paint won't keep indefinitely.
 * 1)  to remain in a state
 * The rabbit avoided detection by keeping still.
 * 1)  to act as wicket-keeper
 * Godfrey Evans kept for England for many years.
 * 1)  to raise; to care for
 * 2) * 1914, Robert Joos, Success with Hens, Forbes & company, page 217:
 * Of course boys are boys and need watching, but there is little watching necessary when they keep chickens.''
 * 1)  to supply with necessities and financially support a person

Synonyms

 * retain
 * preserve, protect

Derived terms

 * keep-away
 * keep around
 * keep at
 * keep away
 * keep back
 * keep down
 * keep faith
 * keep fit
 * keep from
 * keep going
 * keep in mind
 * keep it down
 * keep it on the barber pole
 * keep it real
 * keep it up
 * keep mum
 * keep off
 * keep on
 * keep on truckin'
 * keep one's cards close to one's chest
 * keep one's cool
 * keep one's eye on the ball
 * keep one's eyes peeled
 * keep one's head
 * keep one's head above water


 * keep one's lips sealed
 * keep one on one's toes
 * keep oneself to oneself
 * keep out
 * keep out of
 * keep quiet
 * keep shtum
 * keep somebody in stitches
 * keep somebody posted
 * keep someone in the loop
 * keep straight
 * keep tabs on
 * keep the wolf from the door
 * keep track
 * keep up
 * keep up with
 * keep wicket
 * keep with
 * keep your pecker up
 * keep one's hair on
 * keep one's shirt on
 * keepalive
 * keepie-uppie/keepy-uppy
 * keepnet
 * keepsake

Related terms

 * for keeps

Noun

 * 1)  Care, notice
 * 2) * 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book VII:
 * 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 [...].
 * 1)  The main tower of a castle or fortress, located within the castle walls.
 * 2) 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.

Derived terms

 * earn one's keep

Adverbs for Keep
perniciously; charitably; surreptitiously; deliberately; shamelessly; tenderly; sedulously; discreetly; stubbornly; courteously; religiously; undeviatingly; ceaselessly; perpetually; inevitably; ostentatiously; jealously.

Thesaurus
POW camp, TLC, abide, abide by, abstain, accede to, accommodate, accommodation, accommodations, accumulate, acknowledge, acropolis, act up to, adhere to, administer Communion, afford, afford support, agree to, aliment, alimentation, alimony, amass, arm, armor, arrest, attend Communion, attend Mass, attend to, attend to orders, backlog, balance, ballast, bastille, bastion, be faithful to, beachhead, bear, bear in mind, bear out, bear up, beat the drum, bed, bed and board, bide, bit, black hole, bless, block, blockhouse, blow the trumpet, board, board and room, bolster, bolster up, borstal, borstal institution, bosom, bottle up, box up, bread, bread and butter, breed, bridewell, bridgehead, bridle, brig, brood over, bunker, buttress, cage, camouflage, can, care, care for, carry, carry on, castle, celebrate, celebrate Mass, cell, champion, charge, check, cherish, citadel, cling to, clink, clip, cloak, cloister, clothe, collect, commemorate, communicate, compass about, comply, comply with, conceal, concentration camp, condemned cell, conduct, confine, conform, conform to, consecrate, conserve, constrain, contain, continue, continue to be, control, cool, cool off, cooler, coop, coop in, coop up, copyright, cork up, counterbalance, cover, crib, crutch, culture, cumulate, curb, curtail, cushion, custodianship, custody, daily bread, death cell, death house, death row, decelerate, defeat time, defend, defer to, defy time, deny, detain, detention camp, deter, direct, disallow, discourage, do justice to, dompt, donate, donjon, dress ship, dungeon, dwell, dwell on, dwell upon, economic support, embosom, embrace, encage, enclose, endow, endowment, endure, enjoin, enjoy, ensure, entertain, exist, extend, facilities, fan the embers, farm, fasthold, fastness, fatten, federal prison, feed, fence, fence in, fend, fill, fill up, finance, find, fire a salute, firm, firm up, follow, follow the book, fondle, food, forbear, forbid, forced-labor camp, fort, fortress, foster, freeze, fulfill, fund, furnish, gaol, garner, garner up, garrison, garrison house, gather into barns, give, give support, go on, govern, grow, guarantee, guard, guardhouse, guarding, hallow, hang on to, harbor, harken to, hatch, have, have and hold, have in mind, haven, heap up, heed, hem in, hide, hinder, hoard, hoard up, hold, hold at bay, hold back, hold by, hold down, hold fast, hold in, hold in check, hold in custody, hold in leash, hold in mind, hold in restraint, hold jubilee, hold on, hold on to, hold out, hold up, honor, house of correction, house of detention, hug, husband, immobilize, immure, impound, imprison, incarcerate, industrial school, inhibit, insure, internment camp, invest, jail, jailhouse, jubilate, jubilize, jug, keep alive, keep back, keep by one, keep dark, keep faith with, keep from, keep from harm, keep going, keep in, keep in check, keep in custody, keep in detention, keep in memory, keep in mind, keep in reserve, keep in store, keep in view, keep intact, keep inviolate, keep on, keep on hand, keep out, keep safe, keep the faith, keep under control, keep up, keeping, labor camp, last, last long, last out, laud, lay by, lay under restraint, lay up, lend support, lengthen, listen to, live, live on, live through, live up to, livelihood, living, lock in, lockup, lodgings, look after, maffick, maintain, maintenance, make available, make good, make merry, make provision for, make safe, manage, manna, mark, martello, martello tower, mask, maximum-security prison, meat, meet, memorialize, mew, mew up, mind, minimum-security prison, mote, mothering, motte, muzzle, nail down, nestle, not destroy, not endanger, not expend, not use up, not waste, nourish, nourishment, nurse, nurture, nutriment, obey, obey the rules, observe, obstruct, operate, ordain, oubliette, own, pabulum, pap, patent, pay attention to, peel, peel tower, pen, pen up, penal colony, penal institution, penal settlement, penitentiary, perdure, perennate, perpetuate, persist, persist in, pile up, pillbox, pin down, pokey, police, possess, post, pound, praise, prepare, present, preserve, prevail, prevent, preventive custody, price support, prison, prison camp, prisonhouse, prohibit, prolong, prop, prop up, protect, protection, protective custody, protract, provide, provide for, provision, pull, pull in, put apart, put aside, put away, put by, put up, rail in, raise, ranch, rath, rear, receive the Sacrament, recruit, refection, reform school, reformatory, refreshment, regard, register, rein, rein in, reinforce, remain, replenish, repress, reserve, respect, restrain, restrict, retain, retard, retrench, ride shotgun for, run, run on, safeguard, safehold, safekeeping, sanctify, satisfy, save, save up, screen, seal up, secrete, secure, set apart, set aside, set back, set by, shackle, shelter, shield, shore, shore up, shroud, shut in, shut up, signalize, slow down, smother, snub, solemnize, solemnly mark, sound a fanfare, spare, sponging house, squirrel, squirrel away, stabilitate, stabilize, stand, stand up, state prison, stay, stay in line, stay on, steady, stick, stifle, stir, stock, stock up, stockade, stockpile, store, store up, stow away, straiten, strong point, stronghold, submit, subsidization, subsidize, subsidy, subsist, subsistence, subvention, subventionize, supply, support, suppress, survive, sustain, sustainment, sustenance, sustentation, take orders, tarry, tend, tender loving care, the hole, tide over, toe the line, tollbooth, tower, tower of strength, training school, transfix, treasure, treasure up, undergird, underwrite, upbear, uphold, upkeep, victual, wall in, ward, watch over, wear, wear well, withhold, yield

Etymology
kepen:, from cepan:, from  (cf. West Frisian kypje: ‘to look’), variant of  (cf. Old English capian: ‘to look’, Dutch kapen: ‘to seize, snatch’, German kapfen: ‘to gape’, Danish kope:), from,  (cf. Lithuanian žẽbti: ‘to eat reluctantly’, Russian забота: ‘care, worry’).

Verb

 * Arabic: احتفظ
 * Armenian:
 * Chinese:
 * Cantonese:
 * Mandarin: 保持 (bǎochí)
 * Dutch:
 * Finnish:
 * French:
 * German: ,
 * Hungarian:
 * Indonesian:
 * Italian:
 * Japanese:, 確保する
 * Malayalam: സൂക്ഷിക്കുക, സംരക്ഷിക്കുക


 * Norwegian:
 * Portuguese:
 * Russian:
 * Scottish Gaelic:, glèidh
 * Spanish: ,
 * Swedish: ,
 * Thai: (gèp)
 * Turkish: ,
 * Vietnamese:
 * Volapük: kipön
 * Welsh: cadw
 * West Frisian:


 * Armenian: ,
 * Chinese:
 * Cantonese:
 * Mandarin: 维持 (wéi chí)
 * Dutch:
 * Finnish: ,
 * German: ,
 * Hungarian:
 * Italian:


 * Japanese: ,
 * Norwegian: bevare
 * Russian:
 * Spanish: ,
 * Swedish:
 * Thai: (gèp),  (ao wái)
 * Turkish:
 * Volapük: kipedön


 * Dutch:
 * Finnish:
 * Italian: ,


 * Japanese: 留まる
 * Spanish:
 * Turkish:


 * Armenian:
 * German: heraushalten, fernhalten
 * Italian:


 * Japanese: 抑止する
 * Turkish:


 * Armenian:
 * Chinese:
 * Cantonese:
 * Mandarin: 继续 (jì xù)
 * Czech:
 * Finnish:, tehdä jotakin jatkuvasti
 * French: continuer
 * German: ,
 * Italian: ,


 * Japanese: 継続する, 続行する
 * Norwegian: fortsette
 * Russian:, продолжить
 * Spanish: ,
 * Swedish:
 * Thai: (koi),  (màn)
 * Turkish:
 * West Frisian: fierdergean


 * German:
 * Spanish:


 * Turkish:


 * German:
 * Hungarian: eltart,


 * Spanish:


 * : hoidma (1), säilitama (2)
 * : retenar
 * : jaga, menjaga, menjagai
 * : 確保する (かくほする, kakuho-suru)
 * : (negâh dâštan)


 * : obdržati (1), vzdrževati (2)
 * : ఉంచు, పెట్టు
 * : obdržati (1), vzdrževati (2)
 * : ఉంచు, పెట్టు

Noun

 * Danish: kernetårn, borgtårn,  barfred
 * Finnish: keskustorni
 * Georgian: მთავარი გოდოლი
 * German: Burgfried
 * German: Burgfried


 * Irish: daingean, doinsiún
 * Italian:
 * Norwegian: borgtårn
 * Scottish Gaelic: daingneach
 * Spanish: torre del homenaje
 * Welsh: gorthwr


 * Finnish:
 * German:
 * Italian:


 * Malayalam: സംരക്ഷണം
 * Norwegian: forpleining, underhold

Anagrams

 * kepe, peek, PEEK, Peke

Noun

 * 1) cloak, capote, gaberdine

Noun

 * 1) note
 * take keep — “take note”
 * 1) * Chaucer, G.P. 503-4:
 * And shame it is, if a preest take keep
 * A shiten shepherde and a clene sheep

Noun

 * 1)  penis