keep

Synonyms: donjon

• He works as a cobbler's apprentice for his keep.

• to be in good keep

• 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[…]. - 1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas...
• Pan, thou god of shepherds all, / Which of our tender lambkins takest keep. - 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “December. Ægloga Duodecima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe for Iohn...

• Often he used of his keep / A sacrifice to bring. - 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Iuly. Ægloga Septima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe for Iohn Harrison the yonger, […], →OCLC:

• My Darling Girl, In London the other day I heard a piece of news which may amuse you. The French girl who shot her so-called Egyptian prince and is going to be tried for murder, is the fancy woman who was the Prince's...

• to keep silence; to keep possession

• to keep one's word; to keep one's promise
• Both day and night did we keep company. - c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […]...
• Within the Portal as I kept my Watch, / Swift gliding Shadows by the glimm'ring Moon, I could perceive in Forms of armed Men, / Poſſeſſ the Space that borders on the Porch— […] - 1749, [Tobias George Smollett], The...

Synonyms: fullfill hold honor

• I keep a small stock of painkillers for emergencies.
• I only meant to lend him the shirt at first, but it looked better on him than me, so I told him to keep it.

1. To maintain possession of.

2. (ditransitive) To maintain the condition of; to preserve in a certain state.

   • I keep my specimens under glass to protect them.
   • The abundance of squirrels kept the dogs running for hours.
   • Mr. Cooke had had a sloop yacht built at Far Harbor, the completion of which had been delayed, and which was but just delivered.[…]The Maria had a cabin, which was finished in hard wood and yellow plush, and...

3. (transitive) To record transactions, accounts, or events in.

   • I used to keep a diary.

4. (transitive) To enter (accounts, records, etc.) in a book.

5. (archaic) To remain in; to be confined to.

   • Metrocles somewhat indiscreetly, as he was disputing in his Schole, in presence of his auditory, let a fart, for shame whereof he afterwards kept his house and could not be drawen abroad[…]. - 1603, Michel de Montaigne,...
   • The wrathful skies / Gallow the very wanderers of the dark / And make them keep their caves. - c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies...
   • The following day she was so ill that she kept her bed; the husband went not once to enquire for her, nor did he send any message: he also kept his apartment, and was heard walking backwards and forwards with a hurried...

6. To restrain.

   • I keep my pet gerbil away from my brother.
   • Don't let me keep you; I know you have things to be doing.

7. (with from) To watch over, look after, guard, protect.

   • May the Lord keep you from harm.
   • cursse on thy cruell hond, / That twise hath sped; yet shall it not thee keepe / From the third brunt of this my fatall brond […] - 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […]...

8. To supply with necessities and financially support (a person).

   • He kept a mistress for over ten years.

9. (of living things) To raise; to care for.

   • He has been keeping orchids since retiring.
   • Here John had to keep cows with other boys, and they used to drive them to graze about the Nine-hills. - 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 287:
   • Of course boys are boys and need watching, but there is little watching necessary when they keep chickens. - 1914, Robert Joos, Success with Hens, Forbes & company, page 217:

10. To refrain from freely disclosing (a secret).

    • I know that it's a secret / And that I gotta keep it / But I want the lights on / Yeah, I want the lights on - 2012, Anthony Reyes, Melissa Sheppard, “Leave the Lights On”, in The Bright Side, performed by Meiko:

11. To maintain (an establishment or institution); to conduct; to manage.

    • like a pedant that keeps a school - c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
    • They were honourably accompanied and with great estate brought to London, where euery of them kept house by himselfe. - 1630, John Hayward, The Life, and Raigne of King Edward the Sixt, London: John Partridge, page 114:
    • At half-past nine on this Saturday evening, the parlour of the Salutation Inn, High Holborn, contained most of its customary visitors.[…]In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle,...

12. To have habitually in stock for sale.

• She kept to her bed while the fever lasted.
• Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps, / To ruminate strange plots of dire revenge; […] - c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William...

1. (obsolete) To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.

2. To continue.

   • I keep taking the tablets, but to no avail.
   • Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. […] Next day she […] tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head. Then, thwarted, the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in...
   • Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic[…]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become.[…]But the scandals kept coming, and so we entered stage...

3. To remain edible or otherwise usable.

   • Potatoes can keep if they are in a root cellar.
   • Latex paint won't keep indefinitely.
   • If the malt be not thoroughly dried, the ale it makes will not keep. - 1707, John Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry:

4. (copulative) To remain in a state.

   • The rabbit avoided detection by keeping still.
   • Keep calm! There's no need to panic.

5. (UK, obsolete) To have rooms at college, at the University of Cambridge.

• And thenne whan the damoysel knewe certaynly that he was not syre launcelot / thenne she took her leue and departed from hym / And thenne syre Trystram rode pryuely vnto the posterne where kepte hym la beale Isoud / and...

• Godfrey Evans kept for England for many years.

• […] kepe that the lustes choke not the word of God that is sowen in vs, - c. 1530, William Tyndale, “A Pathway into the holy Scripture”, in The Whole Workes of W. Tyndall, Iohn Frith, and Doct. Barnes, London: John Day,...

• School keeps today.

• I have kept the faith: […] - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Timothy 4:7:
• Be strong, live happie, and love, but first of all / Him whom to love is to obey, and keep / His great command; […] - 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be...

• […] 'tis hallowed ground; No Maid seeks here her strayed Cow, or Sheep, Fairies, and fawns, and satyrs do it keep: - c. 1608, John Fletcher, The Faithful Shepherdess, Act III, Scene 1:

• to keep the Sabbath
• The feast of St. Stephen is kept on December 26.
• There are two time-zones in China: the Eastern, which keeps Shanghai time, 8 hr. in advance of G.M.T.; and the Western, which keeps Kansu-Szechwan time, 7 hr. in advance of G.M.T. - 1944, Great Britain. Naval...

• Please keep these books.
• […] semantic shift: e.g., to send (“to give a lift”), to keep (“to put away”), to hack (“to remove carefully,” e.g., tiles, plaster, etc.), knock (“to remove a dent from a car”), bluff (“to joke”), stay (“to live”) […]...