keep |kiːp|

keep |kiːp|

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verb (past and past participlekept |kɛpt| ) [ with obj. ]

1 have or retain possession of: my father would keep the best for himself | she had trouble keeping her balance.

• retain or reserve for future use: return one copy to me, keeping the other for your files.

• put or store in a regular place: the stand where her umbrella was kept.

2 continue or cause to continue in a specified condition, position, course, etc.: [ no obj., with

complement ] : I kept quiet while Emily talked on | keep left along the wall | [ with obj. and complement ] : she might be kept alive artificially by machinery.

• [ no obj., with present participle ] continue doing or do repeatedly: he keeps going on about the murder.

• [ no obj. ] (of a perishable commodity) remain in good condition. hominy will keep almost indefinitely without spoilage.

• [ with obj. ] retain one's place in or on (a seat or saddle, the ground, etc.) in spite of difficulty. can you keep your saddle, or shall I carry you on a pillion?

• [ no obj., with adverbial ] chiefly Brit.be in a specified state of health: he had not been keeping well.

• [ with obj. ] cause to be late; delay: I won't keep you, I know you've got a busy evening.

• [ with obj. and present participle ] make (someone) do something for a period of time: I have kept her waiting too long.

3 provide for the sustenance of (someone): he had to keep his large family in the manner he had chosen.

• provide (someone) with a regular supply of a commodity: the money should keep him in cigarettes for a week.

• own and look after (an animal) for pleasure or profit. they raised pigs and kept a pony or two.

• own and manage (a shop or business). the big fellow keeps a fish shop near the post office.

• guard; protect: his only thought is to keep the boy from harm.

• support (someone, especially a woman) financially in return for sexual favours. he was keeping a woman on  the side.

4 honour or fulfil (a commitment or undertaking): I'll keep my promise, naturally.

• observe (a religious occasion) in the prescribed manner: today's consumers do not keep the Sabbath.

• pay due regard to (a law or custom). if you kept small rules, you could break the big ones.

5 make written entries in (a diary) on a regular basis.the master kept a weekly journal.

• write down as (a record): keep a note of each item.
noun

1 [ mass noun ] food, clothes, and other essentials for living: the Society are paying for your keep.

• the cost of the essentials for living.

PHRASES

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you can't keep a good man (or woman) down ---informal a competent person will always recover well

from setbacks.

for keeps informal permanently; indefinitely. they'll have to give us the trophy for keeps if we win it again.

keep one's feet--- manage not to fall. on the planked railway crossing she stumbled, but kept her feet.

keep goal chiefly Soccer act as a goalkeeper.

keep going ---make an effort to live normally in spite of difficulty. she had to keep going for the sake of her boys.

keep to oneself ---avoid contact with others. they kept to themselves and were a source of mystery and speculation.

keep something to oneself ---refuse to disclose or share something. he was determined to keep the information to himself.

PHRASAL VERBS

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keep at (or keep someone at)persist (or force someone to persist) with: it was the best part of a day's

work but I kept at it.

keep away (or keep someone away)stay away (or make someone stay away): keep away from the edge of the cliff.

keep back (or keep someone/thing back)remain (or cause someone or something to remain) at a distance:

he had kept back from the river when he could.

keep someone back N. Amer.make a pupil repeat a year at school because of poor marks. she had been kept back a year.

keep something back retain or withhold something: he kept back £5 for himself. • decline to disclose

something. she might be willing to give me the details she had kept back from Ann.

keep down stay hidden by crouching or lying down.
Keep down : There's someone coming.

keep someone down
1 make a pupil repeat a year at school because of poor marks. is a child who fails a year test to be kept down? 2 cause someone to remain in a state of oppression or subjection. one day, it would be impossible that fine people like Philip would be kept down.

keep something down
1 cause something to remain at a low level: the population of aphids is normally kept down by other animals. 2 retain food or drink in one's stomach without vomiting. all I could keep down was water.

keep from (or keep someone from) avoid (or cause someone to avoid) doing something: Dinah bit her lips to keep from screaming.

keep something from :
1 cause something to remain a secret from (someone). now you know what your mother tried to keep from you.
2 cause something to stay out of:she could not keep the dismay from her voice.

keep in with remain on good terms with (someone).

he was simply trying to keep in with his friends.

keep someone in: confine someone indoors or in a particular place: he should be kept in overnight for

observation.

keep something in :  restrain oneself from expressing a feeling: he wanted to make me mad, but I kept it all in.

keep off: 1 avoid encroaching on or touching. you don't have to keep off land during the stalking season.
•avoid consuming or smoking: the first thing was to keep off alcohol.
• avoid (a subject). they kept off delicate subjects like sexism.
2 (of bad weather) fail to occur. the rain kept off until we boarded our coach.

keep someone/thing off : prevent someone or something from encroaching on or touching: keep your

hands off me.

keep someone off : prevent someone from attending (school). how long should children be kept off school for mumps?

keep on :continue to do something: he kept on moving.

keep on about: speak about (something) repeatedly.

they kept on about negotiating an end to the war.

keep on at : Brit.annoy (someone) by making frequent requests: he'd kept on at her, wanting her to go out with him.

keep someone/thing on : continue to use or employ someone or something. am I legally obliged to keep on the insurance?

keep out (or keep someone/thing out) : remain (or cause someone or something to remain) outside. cover with cheesecloth to keep out flies.

keep to avoid : leaving (a path, road, or place). I didn't have his faith in the traffic, so I kept to the edge of the kerb.
•adhere to (a schedule). the administration has kept to a tight timetable. 

• observe (a promise). she was anxious to keep to her resolve to lay before him all the facts.
• confine or restrict oneself to: nothing is more irritating than people who do not keep to the point.

keep someone under : cause someone to remain in a state of oppression or subjection: the local people are kept under by the army.

keep up (also keep up with)
1 move or progress at the same rate as someone or something else: often they had to pause to allow him to keep up. 

2 meet a commitment to pay or do something regularly: if you do not keep up with the payments, the loan company can make you sell your home.

keep up with learn about or be aware of (current events or developments). even though he's been

travelling, he's kept up with what's going on back home.
•continue to be in contact with (someone). they had kept up with him by means of Xmas cards.

keep someone up prevent someone from going to bed or to sleep. the drugs kept her up all night

hallucinating.

keep something up : continue a course of action: keep up the good work. • keep something in an efficient or proper state: the rector could not afford to keep up the grounds. • make something remain at a high level: he was whistling to keep up his spirits.

DERIVATIVES

keepable adjective

ORIGIN late Old English cēpan‘seize, take in’, also

‘care for, attend to’, of unknown origin.

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