1Have or retain possession of.

1. 1.1 Retain or reserve for future use.
   return one copy to me, keeping the other for your files

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Even so, advisers recommend taking photographs of valuable possessions and keeping receipts for as many things as possible.
   • Most tax advisers recommend keeping copies of your returns and supporting documents for at least six years.
   • The fact that they were twice baked and very dry meant that they could be kept for long periods and were well adapted for use by travellers.
   • Some messages are important and need to be kept for future reference.
   • Are you keeping a reserve of under-worked staff on roll to tap into, in the event of an upswing?
   • It seems people love to hoard them and keep them for the future.
   • I hope someone is planning to keep this stuff for future historians.
   • This powder can be kept for long periods of time and is taken along on a journey.
   • Do you think it is appropriate to keep skeletons for future scientific work?
   • The records belong to the city and are kept in trust for future generations.
   • She added that the 150000 that was set aside in the estimates should be kept in reserve for phase two.
   • Regular use of bronchodilators should therefore be avoided and should be kept in reserve for breakthrough wheezing.
   • Other ‘surplus money’ was being kept aside for classroom improvements, said Mr Jackson.
   • Less data is being deleted and more data is being kept for longer periods of time.
   • Three crops a year are harvested to provide enough rice for the population, and the government keeps surpluses stored for times of drought.

   Synonyms

   retain, hold on to, keep for oneself, retain possession of, keep possession of, retain in one's possession, keep hold of, not part with, hold fast to, hold back

   save, store, store up, save up, hoard, put by, put aside, lay aside, set aside, reserve, keep in reserve, lay down

   collect, accumulate, amass, pile up, stockpile, garner

   North American set something by

   informal hang on to, stash away
2. 1.2 Put or store in a regular place.
   the stand where her umbrella was kept

   Example sentencesExamples

   • She pulled and guided her horse to the barn where the saddles were kept, moving swiftly as she worked.
   • This manuscript is on the shelf where only books by family members are kept.
   • Plants kept on the windowsill will benefit from hardening off before they are planted out.
   • Bags are a girl's best friend, allowing women to keep their must-have possessions close at hand.
   • Everyone else decided to lounge around the living room where the beautiful sofas were kept.
   • The books are lovingly maintained, and kept on shelves behind a protective screen.
   • Spread your possessions about - keep your money and mobile phone separate.
   • If luck was needed, Stewart had that covered, too, courtesy of his mascot Fred - a toy skeleton that he kept in his glove bag.
   • National service is compulsory and all adult males are members of the Army Reserve, keeping a rifle at home.
   • Mr Caswell kept some furniture and clothing at the flat but did not live there.
   • A second briefcase was kept under the White House in a secret bunker in case of nuclear attack.
   • Frustratingly for the family it was the first time they had stored the bikes inside the shed after previously keeping them inside the house.
   • The other guys in your unit keep pinching your bike for odd jobs throughout the day, and you wouldn't mind keeping it stored underneath a desk.
   • An intricately carved wooden table is kept in between the plush sofas.
   • If the fern is planted in a pot and kept in semi shade or even in a place where it gets some more sunlight, you will soon find the plant spreading around.
   • It would appear that somebody knew he kept money in his house.
   • Saddles were carefully kept in a spare stall and bridles were precisely suspended in the correct places.
   • It's usually kept on one particular shelf, but when he asked me for it, I looked, and it was gone.
   • A key safe is a secure box, opened by keying in a secret number, that is kept outside your house.
   • The letters, totalling 52 pages, were found in the west of Ireland about 30 years ago and kept in a safe ever since.

   Synonyms

   store, house, stow, keep a place for, put away, place, put, deposit, stack, pile

2Continue or cause to continue in a specified condition, position, course, etc.

1. 2.1no object, with present participle Continue doing or do repeatedly.
   he keeps going on about the murder

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The doctor just keeps telling me the lab results are normal.
   • I had to keep telling myself to stay focused and remain calm through this whole ordeal.
   • I'd need a thesaurus handy just to make sure I don't keep repeating myself.
   • We kept driving, past cedar thickets and a pasture studded with blooming prickly pear cactus.
   • He was always determined to be modern; not to repeat himself but to keep pushing boundaries.
   • She kept repeating it over and over, like I'd asked her to drive me to Uranus or the Arctic Circle.
   • We need to keep picking up points to stay clear of the relegation zone.
   • They were asked to put forward a defence but kept delaying it.
   • The Blues kept digging deep trying to keep themselves in contention.
   • We like the idea of that because it reminds us to think of the future rather than keep looking to the past.
   • As I pulled up in the car park, a wasp launched itself at the windscreen and kept repeatedly battering itself against the glass.
   • There was an adorable little boy living next door to us, who would keep saying hello repeatedly until we said hello back.
   • He is half the size of some of the others but he is so tough and such a good jumper that he keeps winning.
   • The strange message kept being repeated over and over again for about 15 seconds at 1.55 am each day.
   • I have some biggish plans for an upgrade in the very near future, so keep checking back.
   • The managers thought she was up to something, after she kept screwing up repeatedly.
   • Like a gramophone stuck on a groove, he kept asking me why Wen shouted at him.
   • He kept repeating the same thing, that it had nothing to do with him.
   • It is important to keep looking to the future.
   • But as the Federal Reserve keeps raising rates, such buys become less attractive.

   Synonyms

   persist in, go on, keep on, carry on, continue, do something constantly, do something incessantly, do something continually, not stop doing something, persevere
2. 2.2no object (of a perishable commodity) remain in good condition.
   hominy will keep almost indefinitely without spoilage

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Pasta will keep for months in the cupboard.
   • The nice thing about ginger is that it keeps well.
   • The mix keeps for two to three months at room temperature.
   • The batter keeps in the fridge for up to a month; when you're ready to enjoy, just pour it into a tin, bake and you've got a hot muffin in about 25 minutes.
   • It keeps very well if stood upright in a jug containing a little water, and refrigerated.
   • Shelf life varies from product to product, but most items will keep, if stored properly, for a minimum of one month.
   • This product does not keep, and is mainly produced in the autumn and winter.
3. 2.3with object 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?

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Her arms flailed up and around in a desperate and truly valiant bid to keep her seat.
   • She swayed from side to side upon the animal's broad back, and her ruddy face was redder than usual with the effort of keeping her seat.
   • Deirdre kept her ground and the clashing of metal against metal was heard as she blocked his attack.
   • Tamora kept her seat, one hand free to wield her sword with unnervingly good aim.
   • He kept his ground as his attacker walked towards him.
4. 2.4British no object, with adverbial Be in a specified state of health.
   he had not been keeping well

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Mother kept very unwell the greater part of the way.
   • My mother did not keep very good health, so we had a charwoman who came in to do the cleaning.
   • For a man who spends so much time in the gym and out on the golf course, he contrives to keep remarkably poor health.
   • We have all been keeping well.
5. 2.5with object and present participle Make (someone) do something for a period of time.
   I have kept her waiting too long

   Example sentencesExamples

   • She kept me waiting for what felt like an eternity but was probably about 15/20 minutes.
   • He kept me waiting at the counter, having forgotten that there was meant to be an author around.
   • My most sincere apologies for keeping you waiting so long!
   • He enters, apologises bluntly for keeping us waiting, and says he's extremely busy, so let's get on with it.
   • I was also glad that she hadn't kept me waiting since the sky was overcast and it was slightly chilly.
   • And keeping people waiting is part of what stardom is about, which is why he showed up over half an hour late without anyone seeming to mind.
   • He apologised for keeping me waiting (although it was our photographer who had delayed him) and swiftly swept away his papers to make way for me.
   • They then kept me waiting for 20 minutes while they obviously checked out my story.
   • The company kept us waiting for the better part of an hour, but finally their vehicle arrived.
   • The waitresses ran a fairly slick and professional service, neither keeping us waiting nor hovering for our orders before we were ready.
   • She could see he was upset so she walked up to him, hugged him and apologized for keeping him waiting.
   • They kept me waiting for nearly two hours and then I was taken into an office and told to empty my pockets.
   • I did not wish to anger the King any more by keeping him waiting.
   • I didn't want to be responsible for what might happen if I kept him waiting any longer.
   • I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but I was setting up a delicate experiment in the observatory.
   • That might not have mattered, except that they kept me waiting for about 20 minutes.
   • It's a habit he shares with many film producers: he keeps less important mortals waiting, and arrives an hour after our interview was scheduled.
   • He certainly kept us waiting but he got there in the end.
   • The man who created some of the most memorable images of the Sixties arrives early for his interview, then apologises for keeping me waiting.
   • You may have guessed that this is not the first time that he kept me waiting.
6. 2.6with object Cause to be late; delay.
   I won't keep you, I know you've got a busy evening

   Example sentencesExamples

   • She smiled graciously and said, ‘I mustn't keep you’ and she was gone.
   • You must be quick, and not keep me long.
   • ‘I don't want to keep you,’ she apologized. ‘Guess you'd best get outside.’

   Synonyms

   detain, cause to stay, cause to wait, keep waiting, keep back, hold back, restrain

   delay, hold up, retard, make late, set back, slow down, slow up, hinder, obstruct, check, impede, block, hamper, constrain
7. 2.7archaic Continue to follow (a path or course)
   the soldiers removed, keeping their course towards Jericho

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Still further westward on they keep their way.
   • They kept the track, and rolled off mile after mile before daylight in an effort to catch up to the leaders.
   • Our protection was speed and keeping a zig-zag course.
   • Keeping their course on the north side of the lake until they reached its head, they started up the mountain.

3Provide for the sustenance of (someone)

1. 3.1 Provide (someone) with a regular supply of a commodity.
   the money should keep him in cigarettes for a week

   Example sentencesExamples

   • It is this large distribution network that keeps our first-hand bookshops in fresh stock.
   • There was Bill Amon who also kept bees and kept us supplied in honey - that's how I got my love of honey.
   • Apart from keeping us supplied with bread, fruit and hot drinks, the Prodive staff would change our cylinders for us, and I was impressed by the care they took with our cameras.
   • When Ellen was ill friends kept the family supplied with soup, eggs, jellies and wine.
   • Fred proved to be an excellent sponsor, keeping me stocked with all the spare parts I needed.
   • But, above all, it has kept me supplied with the materials essential to my trade as a historian.
   • But let's not forget the stores that kept the rest of Manchester's population in clothes.
   • Our stocks were wiped out on the first day and it was a full time job keeping the children supplied with their favourite which was bananas.
   • I can only hope she was kept well supplied with all the little comforts she missed.
   • His wife kept him supplied with beers and food, and there he sat, happy as a hippo in a waterhole.
   • You will also need a support team, involving two drivers to transport you and your equipment around the country as well as keeping the team supplied with plenty of food and water.
   • We always planted a ridge of turnips and a ridge of cabbage to keep us supplied with vegetables.
   • My mother keeps me well in stock of incense, candles, charcoal blocks, and altar covers.
2. 3.2 Own and look after (an animal) for pleasure or profit.
   they raised pigs and kept a pony or two

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Twenty or so acres can be useful for keeping horses or ponies and does carry a certain prestige.
   • Most of his cattle, however, he keeps for milk production.
   • The fox hunters' problem is that, because keeping a horse is a pretty expensive activity, they were always seen as some sort of financial elite.
   • He also wants a proper pony track and stables for the local boys to keep their horses.
   • I know several families who keep a couple of horses each so that they can hunt during the season.
   • Mr England decided to convert the barn when the pressures on farming forced him to give up keeping pigs at his holding two years ago.
   • I remember a time when every farmer kept a pig or two for their own use.
   • Although it is true to say that keeping pigs as pets has been extremely popular, there are not as many pet pigs around at the moment according to a pig organisation.
   • Because of the presence of the tsetse fly, large animals such as cattle and goats are not kept.
   • She has kept her horse, Callie, which is the first she has owned, at the stables since September.
   • It is an active farm which keeps sheep, goats and pigs and produces cork and honey.
   • To increase his income, he kept sheep and cows, did spinning and acted as a labourer when other farmers needed help.
   • He keeps pigs, cattle and sheep and does not look after the animals himself, contracting out all the mucky work.
   • But the RSPCA and other leading animal welfare groups advise people not to keep exotic pets.
   • The foundation provides homes for retired racehorses and keeps horses at farms in ten states, including Kentucky, Florida, and New York.
   • They also kept sheep, goats and cattle to add milk, butter, cheese and meat to their diet.
   • The animal bones indicated that large quantities of sheep were kept, with some cattle and pig.
   • On the other side of the village is the Exmoor Falconry and Animal Farm, which not only keeps birds of prey and Shetland ponies but also has meerkats, a couple of kookaburras, and a llama.
   • He had to cycle seven miles each way to the land where the sheep were kept.
   • He said Beale was now keeping chickens and pigs, of which there had been no complaints, as well as growing strawberries.

   Synonyms

   breed, rear, raise, farm

   own, have as a pet, keep as a pet, look after, tend
3. 3.3 Own and manage (a shop or business)
   the big fellow keeps a fish shop near the post office

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Little Nell Trent lives in the gloomy atmosphere of the old curiosity shop kept by her grandfather, whom she tends with devotion.
   • Isaura and her husband kept a grocery nearby, and they often stayed there late in the evenings.
   • Tucked in a bazaar along a grimy street, he keeps a shop about the size of a toolshed.
   • Roger, of course, would rather take care of her and keep the shop, but puts on a cheerful face.
   • Jeremy had often told her that her father had been a merchant who kept shop near the barracks.

   Synonyms

   manage, run, own, be the proprietor of, be in charge of, administer, organize, direct, keep up, maintain, operate, look after, superintend
4. 3.4 Guard; protect.
   his only thought is to keep the boy from harm

   Example sentencesExamples

   • We would do anything to keep them from danger.
   • You gave him a good life and kept him from pain.
   • We have spent almost 16 years keeping her from harm and helping her grow and now we have to sit back and watch this person come in and abuse her.
   • Traditional values are so perverted by slavery that Sethe is driven to murder her own daughter to keep her from slavery's horrors.

   Synonyms

   tend, look after, care for, take care of, mind, watch over, have charge of, be responsible for

   protect, keep safe, keep from harm, preserve, defend, guard, shield, shelter, safeguard, save

   preserve, protect, keep safe, afford protection to, guard, shield, shelter, save, safeguard, secure, defend
5. 3.5 Support (someone, especially a woman) financially in return for sexual favours.
   he was keeping a woman on the side

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He was a clever sociopath who owned three properties and kept different women at each.
   • He kept another woman, by whom he had two children.
   • At one stage she was told no woman editor in London would touch her novel with a barge pole because it was so unfashionable to have a story about a kept woman.

4Honour or fulfil (a commitment or undertaking)

1. 4.1 Observe (a religious occasion) in the prescribed manner.
   today's consumers do not keep the Sabbath

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Not once in the New Testament are we told to keep the Sabbath.
   • They were once so numerous that the town kept the feast of St Crispin on October 25, patron saint of cobblers.
   • Some kept all the Holy Days and some kept only Passover.

   Synonyms

   observe, respect, honour, hold sacred, recognize, acknowledge

   celebrate, mark, solemnize, ritualize, ceremonialize, commemorate
2. 4.2 Pay due regard to (a law or custom)
   if you kept small rules, you could break the big ones

   Example sentencesExamples

   • If they kept these laws they were going to be victorious and happy in their promised land.
   • He thought that to be ‘good’ he had to keep the rules and respect the law of God.
   • Smaller, lighter and faster, it keeps the tradition of luxury.
   • We have kept that tradition for 1,600 years and we should be proud of it, he added.
   • Among ourselves, we keep the law but when we are operating in the jungle, we must also use the laws of the jungle.
   • Because no one keeps the whole Law, everyone who lives by the Law must be under a curse.
   • For Pharisees, holiness was achieved, in part, by rigorously keeping the law.
   • We can dedicate more resources to keep our traditions that might be lost otherwise.
   • Our experience in Ireland is that the only thing that really works in terms of drivers keeping the law is fear.
   • Thus far we have seen only part of what he meant when he said that Christians should keep the whole law.
   • Such a man obeys my commands and carefully keeps my laws.
   • The Gentiles or unbeliever is able to keep the moral law because they are made in the image of God.
   • According to my teachers, only Catholics who kept the commandments had a real shot at Heaven.
   • When we think of observing the law, of keeping the commandments, it is the will that first comes to mind.
   • We are free and tolerant in our private lives, but in public affairs we keep the law.
   • They were redeemed, not because they kept the law but because they received the promise.
   • Every week religious Jews observe the Sabbath, the Jewish holy day, and keep its laws and customs.
   • So for instance, the lyre bird is the storyteller of the bush, not only because it doesn't have a voice of its own, but because it keeps the law.
   • We are not saved by keeping the law, or by doing good works, or by adhering to church doctrine.
   • Paul and the Jesus of the gospels reject the belief that keeping the Jewish law is necessary for salvation.

   Synonyms

   observe, respect, honour, hold sacred, recognize, acknowledge

5Make written entries in (a diary) on a regular basis.

1. 5.1 Write down as (a record)
   keep a note of each item

   Example sentencesExamples

   • He keeps a record of the news that has appeared about him in print.
   • The UK scheme keeps records for every employee's full working life.
   • They should also do head counts of students rather than relying on the false records kept by the company.
   • There are two things for me that we will discuss as a panel, as we will discuss absolutely everything, because we have kept a record of what you have said.
   • Employers must keep records for at least three years to show that workers were paid the national minimum wage.
   • World War Two veteran Mr Rogers, 81, has kept a written record of his complaints and says he is fed up with being overlooked.
   • We have a terrible time in keeping accurate records of community members.
   • It does not keep a record of how many households use the permits.
   • The gas firm was also found to have been keeping inadequate records of the state of its pipe distribution network.
   • The experts demanded to know whether they had been keeping proper records of their excavations.
   • As I always do when I travel, I kept a record of what we saw and did, but putting Iceland into words is not easy.
   • Pupils will be keeping an on-going record of the building work as it progresses.
   • In desperation, Novalee camps in the Wal-Mart store, keeping a tally of all the food and goods she has borrowed.
   • I would have to spend two or three nights a week on keeping records and form filling.
   • Most of my novels were written while I was in full-time employment, and I kept records of the amount of time I spent on them.
   • The children were asked to participate in the summer reading scheme and the library have kept a record of all books read.
   • During this era, people tended to write everything down and keep accurate records of events.
   • If the problem persists it is a good idea to keep a record of the frequency and type of disturbance.
   • She still keeps records charting every penny she spends and she is worried.
   • Owning a second home has its own tax consequences, and it is important to ensure proper, up-to-date records are kept.

1mass noun Food, clothes, and other essentials for living.

1. 1.1 The cost of the essentials for living.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • These people are entitled to protection and should not be forced to earn their keep.
   • He organizes his charges to defuse land mines in order to earn their keep.
   • While earning his keep as a waiter in Covent Garden, Norton took a place at Central School of Art and Drama.
   • But to our ancestors, kids were an addition to the family workforce and had to earn their keep.
   • He earned his keep in university by running a bookmaking operation out of his back pocket.
   • It wasn't a woman's place to own a farm, but a girl was expected to earn her keep by working on the family farm.
   • He earned his keep cleaning the shoes and rooms of upper-class students.
   • Work was to be created for those who were sufficiently fit to be able to contribute towards their own keep.
   • For the next four decades Norris usually earned his keep working as a fisherman.
   • He would have played in the first team, coached the kids and earned his keep by working behind the bar and on the ground.
   • Once upon a time we may have been loss leaders; but now, we are expected to earn our keep.
   • Even Web sites with a noble mission to restore a sense of community now have to earn their keep.
   • Now they have to earn their keep - and, as far as we are concerned, they are not doing so.

2archaic mass noun Charge; control.

3The strongest or central tower of a castle, acting as a final refuge.