- (v.t.) To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.
- (v.t.) To have in custody; to have in some place for preservation; to take charge of.
- (n.) The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge.
- (v.i.) To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.
- (v.t.) To confine one's self to; not to quit; to remain in; as, to keep one's house, room, bed, etc.; hence, to haunt; to frequent.
- (v.t.) To observe duty, as a festival, etc.; to celebrate; to solemnize; as, to keep a feast.
- (v.t.) To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from or violate; to practice or perform, as duty; not to neglect; to be faithful to.
- (v.t.) To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or tenor.
- (v.t.) To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.
- (n.) The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case; as, to be in good keep.
- (v.i.) To be in session; as, school keeps to-day.
- (v.t.) To record transactions, accounts or events in; as, to keep books, a journal, etc.; also, to enter (as accounts, records, etc. ) in a book.
- (n.) A cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in place.
- (v.t.) To care; to desire.
- (v.t.) To preserve from danger, harm or loss; to guard.
- (v.t.) To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to communicate, reveal or betray, as a secret.
- (v.i.) To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.
- (n.) That which is kept in charge; a charge.
- (n.) The means or provisions by which one is kept; maintenance; support; as, the keep of a horse.
- (v.t.) To hold; to restrain from departure or removal; not to let go of; to retain in one's power or possession; not to lose; to retain; to detain.
- (v.t.) To continue in, as a course or mode of action; not to intermit or fall from; to hold to; to maintain; as, to keep silence; to keep one's word; to keep possession.
- (v.t.) To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to keep boarders.
- (v.i.) To last; to endure; to remain unimpaired.
- (n.) That which keeps or protects; a stronghold; a fortress; a castle; specifically, the strongest and securest part of a castle, often used as a place of residence by the lord of the castle, especially during a siege; the donjon. See Illust. of Castle.
- (v.t.) To maintain, as an establishment, institution or the like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.
- (v.t.) To have habitually in stock for sale.
- (v.i.) To remain in any position or state; to continue; to abide; to stay; as, to keep at a distance; to keep aloft; to keep near; to keep in the house; to keep before or behind; to keep in favor; to keep out of company or out reach.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). keep. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/keep/definitions/2025193 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "keep" http://smartdefine.org/keep/definitions/2025193 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, keep, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/keep/definitions/2025193>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "keep" 27 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/keep/definitions/2025193> |