1. Retain possession of
   "Can I keep my old stuffed animals?"; "She kept her maiden name after she married";
   - hold on
    
2. Look after; be the keeper of; have charge of
   "He keeps the shop when I am gone"
    
3. Cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity
   "The students keep me on my toes";
   - maintain, hold
    
4. Resume or proceed in a certain state, condition, or activity
   "Keep on working!"; "Keep smiling";
   - continue, go on, proceed, go along
    
5. Conform one's action or practice to
   "she never keeps her promises"; "We kept to the original conditions of the contract"; "keep appointments";
   - observe
    
6. Stick to correctly or closely
   "The pianist kept time with the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of all my employees";
   - observe, maintain
    
7. 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";
   - prevent
    
8. 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";
   - retain, continue, keep on
    
9. Supply with necessities and support
   "There's little to earn and many to keep";
   - sustain, maintain
    
10. Maintain in safety from injury, harm, or danger
    "May God keep you";
    - preserve
     
11. Have and look after for use and service
    "She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips"; "I keep a car in the countryside";
    - maintain
     
12. Have as a supply
    "She keeps a sixpack and a week's worth of supplies in the refrigerator"; "I always keep batteries in the freezer"; "keep food for a week in the pantry"
     
13. Normally leave or store
    "Where do you keep your gardening tools?"
     
14. Supply with room and board
    "He is keeping three women in the guest cottage"; "keep boarders"
     
15. To rear
    "She keeps a few chickens in the yard"; "he keeps bees"
     
16. Maintain by writing regular records
    "keep a diary"; "keep notes";
    - maintain
     
17. Behave as expected during holidays or rites
    "Keep the commandments";
    - observe, celebrate
     
18. Fail to spoil or rot
    "These potatoes keep for a long time";
    - stay fresh
     
19. Prevent (food) from rotting
    "keep potatoes fresh";
    - preserve
     
20. Retain rights to
    "keep my job for me while I give birth"; "keep open the possibility of a merger";
    - keep open, hold open, save
     
21. Hold and prevent from leaving
    "The student was kept after school"
     
22. Prevent the action or expression of
    "keep your cool"; "she struggled to keep back her impatience at the delays";
    - restrain, keep back, hold back

1. The main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress
   "Tourists climbed to the top of the castle's keep for a panoramic view of the countryside";
   - donjon, dungeon [archaic]
    
2. A cell in a jail or prison
   "The prisoner was placed in a keep overnight";
   - hold
    
3. The financial means whereby one lives
   "each child was expected to pay for their keep";
   - support, livelihood, living, bread and butter, sustenance

Derived forms: keeping, kept, keeps

See also: hold over, hold up, live, resist, stop

Type of: abide by, accommodate, acquit, act, bear, behave, book, carry, cause, cell, comply, comport, conduct, confine, cook, deport, detain, do, enter, farm, fastness, fix [informal], follow, get, grow, have, have got, hold, induce, jail cell, keep up, lodge, make, move, peter [Austral, NZ, informal], prepare, prison cell, produce, prolong, protect, put down, raise, ready, record, remain, reserve, resource, rest, stay, stick to, stick with, stimulate, store, stronghold, sustain

Antonym: allow

Part of: castle

Encyclopedia: Keep, John