See Also:

keep(2) (iou)



keep verb. . LOE.
[Origin unkn.]
I. verb trans. (with genit. in Old English, afterwards with direct obj.). Early senses: see also KEP.
Seize, lay hold of; snatch, take. LOE-L15.
Try to catch or get. LOE-ME.
Take in, receive, contain, hold. LOE-ME.
Take in with the eyes, ears, or mind; take note of, see, observe; watch. LOE-L17.
Watch for, await; lie in wait for; intercept. LOE-L15.
Meet; encounter; greet, welcome. Only in ME.
II. verb trans. (in early use also verb intrans.).
verb intrans. & trans. Have regard (for), care (for), (foll. by of (orig. genit.), to do, simple obj.); take care, attend to. LOE-L16.
verb trans. Pay due regard to; observe, abide by, (a law, custom, promise, agreement, set time, etc.). LOE.
G. Orwell If you kept small rules, you could break the big ones. E. O'Brien He kept the dinner appointment.
verb trans. Observe with due formality and in the prescribed manner (a religious rite, ceremony, etc.); celebrate, solemnize. ME.
V. Woolf He seldom spoke of the dead, but kept anniversaries with singular pomp. C. V. Wedgwood Being Sunday the Commissioners kept it as a fast.
b. Observe by attendance, residence, performance of duty, or in some prescribed or regular way. In later use chiefly in keep chapels, keep halls (at college or school), keep terms, keep residence, etc., and in keep early hours, keep late hours, keep regular hours, etc. LME.
Thackeray He kept his chapels, and did the college exercises. J. I. M. Stewart They kept long hours in the Bodleian Library.
verb trans. Guard, defend, protect, (from). arch. exc. in keep goal, keep wicket below. ME.
G. M. Brown They've left a boy To keep the door of the fold, I hope.
verb refl. & intrans. Take care, beware, that. ME-E16.
verb trans.
a. Take care of, look after, tend, have charge of (a thing, arch. & dial. a person or animal). ME.
Joseph Strutt David, who kept his father's sheep.
b. Maintain or preserve (a place etc.) in proper order. LME.
verb trans. Provide with food, clothing, and other requisites of life; maintain, support. Also foll. by in a thing regularly provided. ME.
R. Davies My father had died, and the shop could keep her.
b. Maintain in return for sexual favours. Earlier as KEEPING noun 4b. M16.
verb trans. Preserve in being or operation; continue to have, practise, etc. ME.
keep company, keep guard, keep a lookout, keep order, keep pace, keep silence, keep the peace, keep time, keep tune, etc.
Shakespeare 1 Henry IV Two stars keep not their motion in one sphere. P. Larkin All afternoon..For miles inland, A slow and stopping curve southwards we kept.
b. Carry on, continue to cause, (a disturbance, etc.). Now usu. keep up. LME.
verb trans. With compl.: maintain, or cause to continue in a specified condition, state, place, position, action, or course. ME.
J. Rhys A little muff to keep your hands warm. E. O'Brien Think of anything, so long as the mind keeps itself occupied. Femina Be alert. Keep your eyes and ears open. A. Brookner People upon whom Blanche could rely to keep the party going.
verb trans. Cause or induce to remain in a place; detain; spec. (now usu. more fully keep in jail, keep prisoner, etc.) hold in custody, prevent from escaping. ME.
V. Woolf I'm sorry I'm late..I got kept.
verb trans. Hold back, restrain, (from). ME.
Black & White I shall not be able to keep myself from strangling her. Robert Anderson There's something between fathers and sons that keeps them from being friends.
verb trans. Put aside for future use; reserve, store. ME.
R. H. Mottram Two Canadian majors..came to claim the table..and found it kept for them. E. Waugh If you don't mind..we will keep our business until after luncheon.
verb trans. Retain in one's possession or control; continue to have, hold, or possess. ME.
E. M. Forster England will never keep her trade overseas unless she is prepared to make sacrifices. D. Barnes He..laid a paper-cutter between the pages to keep his place. B. Bettelheim A parent..should keep his cool in times of trouble.
b. verb trans. Have habitually in stock or on sale. L16.
verb trans. Stay in, refrain from leaving, (a place); esp. be confined to (one's bed, room) by sickness. ME.
M. Keane Jane still kept her bed but grew a little stronger every day. W. Golding The parson keeps his cabin. We shall see little of him.
b. Stay in one's position in or on, against opposition or in spite of circumstances or conditions. LME.
W. Faulkner The streets where no horse could have kept its feet.
verb trans. Withhold possession or use of (a thing) or the knowledge of (a fact) from a person. LME.
T. Washington Where they would not receive his salvation, the same for ever shalbe kept from them. Day Lewis If my father..had worries, they were kept from me.
verb trans. Continue to follow (a way, path, course, etc.), so as not to lose it or get out of it. LME.
Field How the driver kept the track is a marvel.
verb trans. Carry on, conduct, as presiding officer or a chief actor (an assembly, court, fair, market, etc.). LME.
Henry Fielding His wife..began to keep an assembly, or..to be 'at home' once a week.
verb trans. Carry on and manage, conduct as one's own, (a business, shop, etc.). E16.
G. Greene Mr. Verloc..keeps a tiny independent cinema in the East End.
verb trans. Maintain continuously (a record, diary, accounts, etc.) by making the requisite entries. M16.
J. Conrad In those books he intended to keep..a record of his rising fortunes.
verb trans. Maintain in one's service, or for one's use or enjoyment; own and manage (animals). M16.
G. Greene The doctor kept his own cows. O. Manning Your father kept a good cellar. R. Davies At the top of the class structure were..families who kept 'maids'.
III. verb intrans. (Chiefly with ellipsis of refl. pronoun.)
Reside, dwell, live, lodge. Now colloq. (esp. Cambridge Univ. & US). LME.
E. M. W. Tillyard He kept in the historic set of rooms..once occupied by the poet Gray.
Remain for a time in a particular place or spot. LME.
George Eliot He suggested that she should keep in her own room.
b. Of a school: be in session. US. M19.
Remain in good condition, last without spoiling; fig. admit of being reserved for another occasion. LME.
F. Marryat He brought home more venison than would keep in the hot weather. Conan Doyle Your story, however, can keep.
Continue, go on, in a specified course or action. M16.
W. Faulkner Just keep right on up the road past the schoolhouse.
b. Go on doing. L18.
B. England They were both tired..but they kept going. Sunday (Calcutta) The bills..keep piling up.
With compl.: remain or continue in a specified condition, state, place, position, action, or course. M16.
E. Bowen I kept out of debt for more than a year. I. Murdoch I usually keep clear of Soho. A. Bullock Bevin kept in constant and close touch with Arthur Deakin.
Cricket. = keep wicket below. M19.
Phrases: (A selection of cross-refs. only is included: see esp. other nouns.) how are you keeping? colloq. in what state is your health? keep an eye on: see EYE noun. keep a secret: see SECRET noun. keep goal act as goalkeeper in football etc. keep house: see HOUSE noun1. keep in touch: see TOUCH noun. keep one's balance: see BALANCE noun. keep one's distance: see DISTANCE noun. keep the wolf from the door: see WOLF noun. keep time: see TIME noun. keep track of: see TRACK noun. keep wicket act as wicket-keeper in cricket.
With adverbs in specialized senses: keep abreast (cause to) proceed at an equal pace (lit. & fig.) (foll. by with, of). keep away (a) (cause to) remain absent or at a distance; (b) Nautical (cause to) sail off the wind or to leeward. keep back (a) restrain, detain; hold back forcibly; (b) withhold; retain or reserve designedly; conceal; (c) hold oneself or remain at the back. keep down (a) cause to remain at a low level (keep one's head down: see HEAD noun); fig. hold in subjection; (b) retain (food etc.) in one's stomach without vomiting; (c) (cause to) remain low in amount, number, or degree; (d) lie low, stay hidden. keep in (a) confine in a place, esp. in school after hours; not utter or give vent to; fig. refrain from giving voice to; (b) keep (a fire) burning; (c) (now colloq.) remain on good terms with; (d) keep one's hand in: see HAND noun. keep off (a) hinder from coming near, ward off; avert; (b) stay at a distance; keep on (a) continue to hold, wear, occupy, employ, etc.; (b) continue or persist in a course of action; esp. go on doing; (c) keep on at, nag or pester (a person) continually (to do). keep out cause to remain outside; prevent from getting in. keep over reserve, hold over. keep together (cause to) remain associated or united (keep body and soul together: see BODY noun). keep under hold in subjection or under control. keep up (a) keep shut up or confined; (b) support, prevent from sinking or falling; (c) maintain in a worthy or effective condition; support; keep in repair; keep burning; (d) maintain, retain, preserve (a quality, state of things, accomplishment, etc.); keep from deteriorating or disappearing; (keep up appearances: see APPEARANCE); (e) continue, go on with (an action, a course of action); keep it up, prolong a party; (f) prevent from going to bed; (g) keep up to, prevent from or insist on not falling below (a level, standard, principle, etc.); keep informed of; (h) continue alongside, keep abreast; proceed at an equal pace with (lit. & fig.); keep up with the Joneses, strive not to be outdone by one's neighbours; (i) continue to maintain a friendship or acquaintance; keep in touch (with).
With prepositions in specialized senses: keep at work persistently at; continue to occupy oneself with; also keep at it. keep from (a) remain absent or away from; (b) restrain oneself from. keep off avoid, stay away from; keep off the grass: see GRASS noun. keep to (a) adhere to, abide by (a promise, agreement, etc.); (b) confine or restrict oneself to; keep to oneself, (colloq.) keep oneself to oneself, avoid the society of others. keep with remain with, associate with; keep up with.
Comb.: keep-fit adjective & noun (a) adjective designating or pertaining to exercises etc. designed to keep people fit and healthy; (b) noun keep-fit exercises; keep-fit class; keep-left adjective designating a sign etc. directing traffic to the left of the road; keep-net Angling a net for keeping fish alive until they are returned to the water; keep-out adjective designating a sign prohibiting entry.