transitive verb kept, keeping
- to observe or pay regard to; specif.,
- to observe with due or prescribed acts, ceremonies, etc.; celebrate or solemnize: to keep the Sabbath
- to fulfill (a promise, etc.)
- to follow or adhere to (a routine, diet, etc.)
- to go on maintaining: to keep pace
- Archaic to attend (church, etc.) regularly
- to take care of, or have and take care or charge of; specif.,
- to protect; guard; defend
- to look after; watch over; tend
- to raise (livestock)
- to maintain in good order or condition; preserve
- to supply with food, shelter, etc.; provide for; support
- to supply with food or lodging for pay: to keep boarders
- to have or maintain in one's service or for one's use: to keep servants
- to set down regularly in writing; maintain (a continuous written record): to keep an account of sales
- to make regular entries in; maintain a continuous record of transactions, accounts, or happenings in: to keep books of account, to keep a diary
- to carry on; conduct; manage
- to maintain, or cause to stay or continue, in a specified condition, position, etc.: to keep an engine running
- to have or hold; specif.,
- to have or hold for future use or for a long time
- to have regularly in stock for sale
- to have or hold and not let go; specif.,
- to hold in custody; prevent from escaping
- to prevent from leaving; detain
- to hold back; restrain: to keep someone from talking
- to withhold
- to conceal; not tell (a secret, etc.)
- to continue to have or hold; not lose or give up
- to stay in or at; not leave (a path, course, or place)
Origin:
ME kepen < OE cœpan, to behold, watch out for, lay hold of, akin to MLowG kapen, ON kopa, to stare at < ? IE base *ĝab-, to look at or for