keenness
keenness

keep


Definition: Meaning of, keep in English to English dictionary.

Pronunciation: / kiːp /

  • verb
  • synonym
  • antonym
Word Forms:
Prsesent Past Past Participle
keep kept kept
Present Participle Third Person Singular
keeping keeps
  1. not change [linking verb, transitive] to stay in a particular state, condition, or position, or to make someone or something do this
    1. Keep going straight down the lane and keep to your right side.
    2. Keep fighting the disease till you defeat it.
    SYNONYM
    Stay, preserve unchanged, perseverance, persist
    ANTONYM
    Move, shift, change, stop, transfer
  2. continue doing something also keep on [intransitive] to continue doing something or to do the same thing many times
    1. My dog likes this treat so much that he keeps coming back for more.
    2. I will keep staying indoors till the threat is neutralized.
    3. He keeps hurting you and you still keep in touch with him.
    SYNONYM
    Stay, continue, remain, endure, sustain, stand, \r\nweather
    ANTONYM
    Discontinue, leave, move, go, break, disrupt, halt, pause, dislocate, relocate.
  3. not give back [transitive] to have something and not give it back to the person who had it before
    1. I am going to keep your books till you apologize to your teacher for misbehavior.
    2. We will keep you waiting outside until you show us your ID card.
    SYNONYM
    Detain, Hinder, impede, delay, postponed, hold, defer, suspend
    ANTONYM
    Release, free, discharge, issue, let go, let off, liberate
  4. not lose [transitive] to continue to have something and not lose it or get rid of it
    1. Stay positive and keep smiling
    2. Despite my many warnings he kept on sneering at the girl till she attacked him.
    3. Despite his refusal she keeps hoping that he will return to her one day.
    SYNONYM
    Continue, carry on
    ANTONYM
    Discontinue, stop, don’t, halt, give it a rest
  5. store something [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to leave something in one particular place so that you can find it easily
    1. She always keeps her passport in the front pocket of her purse so it stays accessible.
    2. My grandfather keeps his wallet and glasses in his front pocket.
    3. She decided to keep the extra layer of clothes as it was chilly.
    SYNONYM
    Place, put, lay
    ANTONYM
    Take, lose, drop, miss, dislodge, disengage, dissociate
  6. make somebody stay in a place [transitive always + adverb preposition] to make someone stay in a place, especially a prison or hospital
    1. The doctors have decided to keep the old lady in ICU for 24 hours.
    2. The big and small fish are kept in separate aquarium to prevent big fish from eating the small fish.
    SYNONYM
    Retain, hold, reserve
    ANTONYM
    Release, discharge, let go, retire
  7. delay somebody [transitive] to delay someone
    1. I don’t want to keep you from office but this matter is urgent and needs your attention.
    2. The heavy traffic on the route can keep you from reaching the venue on time.
    SYNONYM
    Delay, defer, refrain, retain, abstain, withhold, curb
    ANTONYM
    Expedite, accelerate, advance, rush, quicken, hurry
  8. do what you promised [transitive] to do what you have promised or agreed to do
    1. She keeps her words no matter what.
    2. I have tried my best to keep my word but things got out of my hands
    SYNONYM
    Fulfill (promise)
    ANTONYM
    Break (promise), not keep (your words)
  9. keep a secret to not tell anyone about a secret that you know
    1. She leaned forward and whispered in my ear “Can you keep a secret?”
    2. Since last month I am noticing my husband is keeping things from me.
    SYNONYM
    Hide, conceal, confidential, discreet
    ANTONYM
    Disclose, tell
  10. keep something quiet/keep quiet (about something) to not say anything in order to avoid telling a secret or causing problems
    1. You saw the whole incident and still you kept quiet about it? Why?
    2. She likes to keep her quiet so as not to rock the boat too much
    3. We are throwing a late night party but trying to keep it quiet
    SYNONYM
    Unvocal, hushed, low key, small, unnoticeable
    ANTONYM
    Dispute, argue, discuss, high key, loud, blast, flamboyant, flashy
  11. keep a record/account/diary etc to regularly record written information somewhere
    1. I am keeping a record of every penny and I’ll pay you back soon as I can.
    2. She keeps record of her progress and her partner’s progress.
    SYNONYM
    File, note, record, journal
    ANTONYM
    Undated
  12. keep going keep (somebody) going to have or to give someone enough hope and emotional strength to continue living and doing things, in a bad situation
    1. When the going gets tough the tough keeps going
    2. If you keep going at this speed you will reach there tomorrow morning
    SYNONYM
    Continue (doing), carry on, maintain, preserve, sustain, persist
    ANTONYM
    Discontinue, lose, unstable
  13. keep going keep (something) going if you keep a business, institution, regular event etc going, you keep it open or make it continue to happen
    1. My school keeps growing bigger and better.
    2. In this shop the customers keep coming till midnight.
    3. Maintaining this huge house is costing her a
    SYNONYM
    Goes, continue, become, make
    ANTONYM
    Stop, reduce, discontinue, halt
  14. keep going keep going to continue doing something difficult
    1. Although the weather was really tough and there were storms on the way we had to keep going.
    2. Keep going till you can.
    SYNONYM
    Carry on, stay put, stable, preserve, persist, endure, sustain, endure
    ANTONYM
    Give up
  15. keep going keep somebody going if something keeps you going, it is enough to satisfy your need while you are waiting to get something bigger or better
    1. I felt like I’ll keep going with it till I find a better way.
    2. I’ll have a sip of tap water to keep me going till we find a store to buy bottled water from.
    SYNONYM
    Function, survive, last
    ANTONYM
    Die, wither, expire, perish
  16. food [intransitive] if food keeps, it stays fresh enough to be eaten
    1. If you freeze the meat right away it will keep for months.
    2. I put my salad in a brown bag and it keeps for days.
    SYNONYM
    Stay fresh, good, edible. Eatable, appetizing
    ANTONYM
    Stale, expired, rotten, inedible
  17. animals [transitive] to own and look after animals
    1. It is not easy to keep fish alive without proper aquarium
    2. I have kept parrots, rabbits and cats but never kept dogs.
    SYNONYM
    Own (pets), care for, possess
    ANTONYM
    Disown
  18. stop other people from using something [transitive] to stop other people from using something, so that it is available for someone [=  save]
    1. I always keep a place for him in the front row but he never does the same for me.
    2. The teacher handed me the stack and said, “Keep one for your friend and pass the rest”.
    SYNONYM
    Save, reserve, protect, spare, marked, taken
    ANTONYM
    Unreserved, unmarked, common
  19. keep somebody waiting to make someone wait before you meet them or see them
    1. The President kept the ambassador waiting in the lobby because he was speaking to another president on the phone.
    SYNONYM
    Make, force
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  20. keep guard/watch to guard a place or watch around you all the time
    1. The child is so naughty, his teachers have to keep a watch for him constantly.
    2. My job is simply to sit on this chair and keep a watch on the neighborhood.
    SYNONYM
    Guard, safeguard, lookout, post, sentinel
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  21. shop [transitive] British English old-fashioned to own a small business and work in it
    1. We keep the shop open till midnight.
    2. We kept the toy business even after my father’s death.
    3. She will keep her job despite the large scale layoff.
    SYNONYM
    Going, running, functioning, operational, in business, working, active,
    ANTONYM
    Closed, wrap up, close down, shut down,
  22. provide somebody with things [transitive] to provide someone with money, food etc
    1. He has been giving me keeps ever since I remember.
    2. We provided the nanny lodging and keep
    SYNONYM
    Stipend, pocket money, money, allowance, perks
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  23. protect [transitive] formal to guard or protect someone
    1. The police officer picked up the boy and said, ‘Don’t worry I’ll keep you safe.”
    2. “Driving with the seatbelt fastened will keep you safe in case of accidents. “
    SYNONYM
    Guarantee, make
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  24. keep goal/wicket to be the player in a team whose job is to protect the GOAL or WICKET
    1. I am always asked to serve as a goal keeper when I want to be a batsman
    2. The goalkeeper missed the catch even though it was an easy one.
    SYNONYM
    NONE
    ANTONYM
    NONE (batsman, bowler, spectator, Umpire)
  25. spoken keep quiet used to tell someone not to say anything or make any noise
    1. He was asked at least twice to keep quiet but he paid no attention and went on talking.
    2. “Keep quiet kids and do your work” asked the teacher firmly.
    SYNONYM
    Stay
    ANTONYM
    Start (talking/action)
  26. spoken how are you keeping? used to ask if someone is well
    1. I have meaning to enquire about how he has been keeping all these years.
    2. “Oh so nice to meet you how are you keeping.”
    SYNONYM
    Doing, managing, living
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  27. spoken keep your hair/shirt on! used to tell someone to be more calm, patient etc
    1. I wished he would keep his shirt on, but he went berserk and blasted.
    2. She must keep her hair on if she wants to learn real class control.
    SYNONYM
    Stay calm, stay collected
    ANTONYM
    Hyper, super excited
  28. spoken somebody can keep something used to say that you do not want or are not interested in something
    1. These are $50 please keep the change.
    2. I have 10 years of experience in this field if you don’t like my attitude you can keep the job as I am not going to change myself one bit.
    SYNONYM
    Hold, take
    ANTONYM
    Give back
  29. spoken it'll keep used to say that you can tell someone something or do something later
    1. It is 12 o clock midnight the issue will keep till morning.
    2. This is middle of June the admissions procedure will keep till Augusts.
    SYNONYM
    Delayed, later
    ANTONYM
    Earlier
synonym
antonym
  • noun
  • synonym
  • antonym
Word Forms:
Singular Plural
keep keeps
  1. somebody's keep the cost of providing food and a home for someone
    1. The maid’s salary and keep is going to be more than my earnings.
    2. He paid his wife and children’s keep still the court took his meeting rights away from him.
    SYNONYM
    Expense, cost, overhead
    ANTONYM
    Not found!
  2. for keeps informal for ever
    1. As soon as he started to speak she felt he is angry for keeps.
    2. I wanted to impress him that I am a keeper.
    SYNONYM
    Worthy, Precious, invaluable, forever, long term, permanently
    ANTONYM
    Worthy, devalue, short term
  3. [countable] a large strong tower, usually in the centre of a castle
    1. The lady stayed in the keep of the castle.
    2. Queens and kings stored gold in the keep.
    SYNONYM
    Castle, stronghold, secure room, vault
    ANTONYM
    Insecure, open, accessible
synonym
antonym

keep used in phrases

  • Keep America Beautiful
    1. a phrase used by a group of people who want to encourage American people not to drop LITTER in the streets
  • Keep Britain Tidy
    1. a phrase used by a group of people who want to encourage British people not to drop LITTER in the streets
  • keep abreast (verb)
    1. keep informed
  • keep an eye on (verb)
    1. follow with the eyes or the mind
  • keep apart (verb)
    1. set apart from others
  • keep company (verb)
    1. be a companion to somebody
  • keep fit (noun)
    1. British English old-fashioned a class in which you do exercises to keep yourself healthy [↪  aerobics]
  • keep going (verb)
    1. continue uninterrupted
    2. suffice for a period between two points
  • keep guard (verb)
    1. watch over so as to protect
  • keep in line (verb)
    1. others or oneself influence skilfully, usually to one's advantage
  • More

keep used in phrasal verbs

  • keep away (phrasal verb)
    1. keep someone/something away to avoid someone or something, or to make someone else do this
  • keep back (phrasal verb)
    1. [transitive] to not tell someone something, or to not show how you feel
    2. [transitive] to keep part of an amount of money that belongs to someone or is owed to them
  • keep down (phrasal verb)
    1. to control something and prevent it from increasing in size or number
    2. to stop someone from achieving what they are capable of achieving
  • keep from (phrasal verb)
    1. keep someone/something from doing something to prevent someone from doing something or prevent something from happening
    2. keep something from someone to not tell someone something
  • keep in (phrasal verb)
    1. to make someone stay in a place, especially in school as a punishment
  • keep in with (phrasal verb)
    1. keep in with someone to stay friendly with someone, especially someone who can help you
  • keep off (phrasal verb)
    1. keep something off something to not touch something, or to prevent something from touching something
    2. keep off something to not go onto a particular area of land
  • keep on (phrasal verb)
    1. [transitive] keep on doing something to continue doing something
    2. [transitive] to continue to employ someone
  • keep out (phrasal verb)
    1. [transitive] keep someone/something out to prevent someone or something from entering a place
    2. keep out used on signs to tell people not to go into a place
  • keep out of (phrasal verb)
    1. keep out of something to not become involved with something
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Pronunciation:
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