[
UK
/kˈiːp/
]
[ US /ˈkip/ ]
[ US /ˈkip/ ]
VERB
-
retain possession of
She kept her maiden name after she married
Can I keep my old stuffed animals? -
supply with room and board
He is keeping three women in the guest cottage
keep boarders -
hold and prevent from leaving
The student was kept after school -
prevent (food) from rotting
keep potatoes fresh
preserved meats -
behave as expected during of holidays or rites
Observe Yom Kippur
Keep the commandments
celebrate Christmas -
have as a supply
I always keep batteries in the freezer
She keeps a sixpack and a week's worth of supplies in the refrigerator
keep food for a week in the pantry -
continue a certain state, condition, or activity
Keep smiling
We went on working until well past midnight
Keep on working!
We continued to work into the night -
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., `keep clean'
She always held herself as a lady
The students keep me on my toes
hold in place -
stick to correctly or closely
The pianist kept time with the metronome
I cannot keep track of all my employees
keep count -
supply with necessities and support
The money will sustain our good cause
She alone sustained her family
There's little to earn and many to keep -
maintain for use and service
I keep a car in the countryside
She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips -
store or keep customarily
Where do you keep your gardening tools? -
prevent the action or expression of
hold back your anger
keep your cool
she struggled to restrain her impatience at the delays
keep your cool -
maintain by writing regular records
keep notes
maintain a record
keep a diary -
look after; be the keeper of; have charge of
He keeps the shop when I am gone -
raise
he keeps bees
She keeps a few chickens in the yard -
conform one's action or practice to
We kept to the original conditions of the contract
she never keeps her promises
keep appointments -
stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state
Keep the child from eating the marbles
We must prevent the cancer from spreading
His snoring kept me from falling asleep -
maintain in safety from injury, harm, or danger
May God keep you -
fail to spoil or rot
These potatoes keep for a long time -
allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature
We cannot continue several servants any longer
She retained her composure
Our grant has run out and we cannot keep you on
this garment retains its shape even after many washings
We kept the work going as long as we could
She retains a lawyer
The family's fortune waned and they could not keep their household staff -
retain rights to
keep my job for me while I give birth
keep my seat, please
keep open the possibility of a merger
NOUN
- a cell in a jail or prison
-
the financial means whereby one lives
he applied to the state for support
he could no longer earn his own livelihood
each child was expected to pay for their keep - the main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress
How To Use keep In A Sentence
- Moreover, she is being asked to do this while remaining scrupulously impartial and keeping the viewer entertained with talk of trade deals, tariffs and employment figures. Times, Sunday Times
- Kids at one Connecticut school don't like a new rule, but you probably won't hear them expressing themselves by using profanity: the rule to keep kids from cussing.
- 'When I was a little girl I used to slip away from my nurse, climb to the top of my uncle's keep and sit in the crenel spaces. The Falcons of Montabard
- The dozen pictures she had shot during a recent bath time -- including a few of Nora rinsing with a handheld shower sprayer -- were, for Cynthia, simply part of the vast photographic record she was keeping of her family's life. Lynn Powell: Pornographer or Soccer Mom?
- Human relations do not always rely on meeting each other in person every day. When we talk about relationships between people on either side of the border, just a few thousand miles can’t keep love from growing and blooming into a beautiful bonding. Gulzar
- If you accept that you have to do mass education - and, to keep costs low and for a lot of other reasons, I think that's not an unreasonable conclusion - you have to systematize it.
- We spend our days hunting for things to keep us alive. Times, Sunday Times
- An old poacher makes the best keeper.
- This white-naped mangabey monkey was born at The Bioparco Zoo in Rome, Italy, and is part of an international breeding program to keep the species alive.
- It is the way they keep their finger on the pulse and keep in touch with their audience.