DEEn Dictionary De - En
DeEs De - Es
DePt De - Pt
 Vocabulary trainer

Spec. subjects Grammar Abbreviations Random search Preferences
Search in Sprachauswahl
keep
Search for:
Mini search box
 
English Dictionary: Keep by the DICT Development Group
5 results for Keep
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
keep
n
  1. the financial means whereby one lives; "each child was expected to pay for their keep"; "he applied to the state for support"; "he could no longer earn his own livelihood"
    Synonym(s): support, keep, livelihood, living, bread and butter, sustenance
  2. the main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress
    Synonym(s): keep, donjon, dungeon
  3. a cell in a jail or prison
    Synonym(s): hold, keep
v
  1. keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"; "hold in place"; "She always held herself as a lady"; "The students keep me on my toes"
    Synonym(s): keep, maintain, hold
  2. continue a certain state, condition, or activity; "Keep on working!"; "We continued to work into the night"; "Keep smiling"; "We went on working until well past midnight"
    Synonym(s): continue, go on, proceed, go along, keep
    Antonym(s): discontinue
  3. retain possession of; "Can I keep my old stuffed animals?"; "She kept her maiden name after she married"
    Synonym(s): keep, hold on
    Antonym(s): lose
  4. stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state; "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"; "His snoring kept me from falling asleep"; "Keep the child from eating the marbles"
    Synonym(s): prevent, keep
    Antonym(s): allow, let, permit
  5. conform one's action or practice to; "keep appointments"; "she never keeps her promises"; "We kept to the original conditions of the contract"
    Synonym(s): observe, keep
    Antonym(s): breach, break, go against, infract, offend, transgress, violate
  6. stick to correctly or closely; "The pianist kept time with the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of all my employees"
    Synonym(s): observe, keep, maintain
  7. look after; be the keeper of; have charge of; "He keeps the shop when I am gone"
  8. maintain by writing regular records; "keep a diary"; "maintain a record"; "keep notes"
    Synonym(s): keep, maintain
  9. supply with room and board; "He is keeping three women in the guest cottage"; "keep boarders"
  10. allow to remain in a place or position or maintain a property or feature; "We cannot continue several servants any longer"; "She retains a lawyer"; "The family's fortune waned and they could not keep their household staff"; "Our grant has run out and we cannot keep you on"; "We kept the work going as long as we could"; "She retained her composure"; "this garment retains its shape even after many washings"
    Synonym(s): retain, continue, keep, keep on
  11. supply with necessities and support; "She alone sustained her family"; "The money will sustain our good cause"; "There's little to earn and many to keep"
    Synonym(s): sustain, keep, maintain
  12. fail to spoil or rot; "These potatoes keep for a long time"
    Synonym(s): keep, stay fresh
  13. behave as expected during of holidays or rites; "Keep the commandments"; "celebrate Christmas"; "Observe Yom Kippur"
    Synonym(s): observe, celebrate, keep
  14. keep under control; keep in check; "suppress a smile"; "Keep your temper"; "keep your cool"
    Synonym(s): restrain, keep, keep back, hold back
  15. maintain in safety from injury, harm, or danger; "May God keep you"
    Synonym(s): keep, preserve
  16. raise; "She keeps a few chickens in the yard"; "he keeps bees"
  17. retain rights to; "keep my job for me while I give birth"; "keep my seat, please"; "keep open the possibility of a merger"
    Synonym(s): keep open, hold open, keep, save
  18. store or keep customarily; "Where do you keep your gardening tools?"
  19. have as a supply; "I always keep batteries in the freezer"; "keep food for a week in the pantry"; "She keeps a sixpack and a week's worth of supplies in the refrigerator"
  20. maintain for use and service; "I keep a car in the countryside"; "She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips"
    Synonym(s): keep, maintain
  21. hold and prevent from leaving; "The student was kept after school"
  22. prevent (food) from rotting; "preserved meats"; "keep potatoes fresh"
    Synonym(s): preserve, keep
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   In \In\, prep. [AS. in; akin to D. & G. in, Icel. [c6], Sw. &
      Dan. i, OIr. & L. in, Gr. 'en. [root]197. Cf. 1st {In-},
      {Inn}.]
      The specific signification of in is situation or place with
      respect to surrounding, environment, encompassment, etc. It
      is used with verbs signifying being, resting, or moving
      within limits, or within circumstances or conditions of any
      kind conceived of as limiting, confining, or investing,
      either wholly or in part. In its different applications, it
      approaches some of the meanings of, and sometimes is
      interchangeable with, within, into, on, at, of, and among. It
      is used:
  
      1. With reference to space or place; as, he lives in Boston;
            he traveled in Italy; castles in the air.
  
                     The babe lying in a manger.               --Luke ii. 16.
  
                     Thy sun sets weeping in the lowly west. --Shak.
  
                     Situated in the forty-first degree of latitude.
                                                                              --Gibbon.
  
                     Matter for censure in every page.      --Macaulay.
  
      2. With reference to circumstances or conditions; as, he is
            in difficulties; she stood in a blaze of light.
            [bd]Fettered in amorous chains.[b8] --Shak.
  
                     Wrapt in sweet sounds, as in bright veils.
                                                                              --Shelley.
  
      3. With reference to a whole which includes or comprises the
            part spoken of; as, the first in his family; the first
            regiment in the army.
  
                     Nine in ten of those who enter the ministry.
                                                                              --Swift.
  
      4. With reference to physical surrounding, personal states,
            etc., abstractly denoted; as, I am in doubt; the room is
            in darkness; to live in fear.
  
                     When shall we three meet again, In thunder,
                     lightning, or in rain?                        --Shak.
  
      5. With reference to character, reach, scope, or influence
            considered as establishing a limitation; as, to be in
            one's favor. [bd]In sight of God's high throne.[b8]
            --Milton.
  
                     Sounds inharmonious in themselves, and harsh.
                                                                              --Cowper.
  
      6. With reference to movement or tendency toward a certain
            limit or environment; -- sometimes equivalent to into; as,
            to put seed in the ground; to fall in love; to end in
            death; to put our trust in God.
  
                     He would not plunge his brother in despair.
                                                                              --Addison.
  
                     She had no jewels to deposit in their caskets.
                                                                              --Fielding.
  
      7. With reference to a limit of time; as, in an hour; it
            happened in the last century; in all my life.
  
      {In as much as}, [or] {Inasmuch as}, in the degree that; in
            like manner as; in consideration that; because that;
            since. See {Synonym} of {Because}, and cf. {For as much
            as}, under {For}, prep.
  
      {In that}, because; for the reason that. [bd]Some things they
            do in that they are men . . .; some things in that they
            are men misled and blinded with error.[b8] --Hooker.
  
      {In the name of}, in behalf of; on the part of; by authority;
            as, it was done in the name of the people; -- often used
            in invocation, swearing, praying, and the like.
  
      {To be in for it}.
            (a) To be in favor of a thing; to be committed to a
                  course.
            (b) To be unable to escape from a danger, penalty, etc.
                  [Colloq.]
  
      {To be} ([or] {keep}) {in with}.
            (a) To be close or near; as, to keep a ship in with the
                  land.
            (b) To be on terms of friendship, familiarity, or intimacy
                  with; to secure and retain the favor of. [Colloq.]
  
      Syn: Into; within; on; at. See {At}.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   Keep \Keep\, n.
      1. The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed;
            charge. --Chaucer.
  
                     Pan, thou god of shepherds all, Which of our tender
                     lambkins takest keep.                        --Spenser.
  
      2. The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition;
            case; as, to be in good keep.
  
      3. The means or provisions by which one is kept; maintenance;
            support; as, the keep of a horse.
  
                     Grass equal to the keep of seven cows. --Carlyle.
  
                     I performed some services to the college in return
                     for my keep.                                       --T. Hughes.
  
      4. That which keeps or protects; a stronghold; a fortress; a
            castle; specifically, the strongest and securest part of a
            castle, often used as a place of residence by the lord of
            the castle, especially during a siege; the donjon. See
            Illust. of {Castle}.
  
                     The prison strong, Within whose keep the captive
                     knights were laid.                              --Dryden.
  
                     The lower chambers of those gloomy keeps. --Hallam.
  
                     I think . . . the keep, or principal part of a
                     castle, was so called because the lord and his
                     domestic circle kept, abode, or lived there. --M. A.
                                                                              Lower.
  
      5. That which is kept in charge; a charge. [Obs.]
  
                     Often he used of his keep A sacrifice to bring.
                                                                              --Spenser.
  
      6. (Mach.) A cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in
            place.
  
      {To take keep}, to take care; to heed. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   Keep \Keep\ (k[emac]p), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Kept}; p. pr. & vb.
      n. {Keeping}.] [OE. k[?]pen, AS. c[?]pan to keep, regard,
      desire, await, take, betake; cf. AS. copenere lover, OE.
      copnien to desire.]
      1. To care; to desire. [Obs.]
  
                     I kepe not of armes for to yelp [boast]. --Chaucer.
  
      2. To hold; to restrain from departure or removal; not to let
            go of; to retain in one's power or possession; not to
            lose; to retain; to detain.
  
                     If we lose the field, We can not keep the town.
                                                                              --Shak.
  
                     That I may know what keeps me here with you.
                                                                              --Dryden.
  
                     If we would weigh and keep in our minds what we are
                     considering, that would instruct us.   --Locke.
  
      3. To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to
            maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or
            tenor.
  
                     His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. --Milton.
  
                     Keep a stiff rein, and move but gently on.
                                                                              --Addison.
  
      Note: In this sense it is often used with prepositions and
               adverbs, as to keep away, to keep down, to keep from,
               to keep in, out, or off, etc. [bd]To keep off
               impertinence and solicitation from his superior.[b8]
               --Addison.
  
      4. To have in custody; to have in some place for
            preservation; to take charge of.
  
                     The crown of Stephanus, first king of Hungary, was
                     always kept in the castle of Vicegrade. --Knolles.
  
      5. To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.
  
                     Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee. --Gen.
                                                                              xxviii. 15.
  
      6. To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to
            communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.
  
                     Great are thy virtues . . . though kept from man.
                                                                              --Milton.
  
      7. To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.
  
                     And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the
                     garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. --Gen.
                                                                              ii. 15.
  
                     In her girlish age, she kept sheep on the moor.
                                                                              --Carew.
  
      8. To record transactions, accounts, or events in; as, to
            keep books, a journal, etc.; also, to enter (as accounts,
            records, etc. ) in a book.
  
      9. To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the
            like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.
  
                     Like a pedant that keeps a school.      --Shak.
  
                     Every one of them kept house by himself. --Hayward.
  
      10. To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to
            keep boarders.
  
      11. To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an
            assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.
  
                     I keep but three men and a boy.         --Shak.
  
      12. To have habitually in stock for sale.
  
      13. To continue in, as a course or mode of action; not to
            intermit or fall from; to hold to; to maintain; as, to
            keep silence; to keep one's word; to keep possession.
  
                     Both day and night did we keep company. --Shak.
  
                     Within this portal as I kept my watch. --Smollett.
  
      14. To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from
            or violate; to practice or perform, as duty; not to
            neglect; to be faithful to.
  
                     I have kept the faith.                     --2 Tim. iv.
                                                                              7.
  
                     Him whom to love is to obey, and keep His great
                     command.                                          --Milton.
  
      15. To confine one's self to; not to quit; to remain in; as,
            to keep one's house, room, bed, etc.; hence, to haunt; to
            frequent. --Shak.
  
                     'Tis hallowed ground; Fairies, and fawns, and
                     satyrs do it keep.                           --J. Fletcher.
  
      16. To observe duty, as a festival, etc.; to celebrate; to
            solemnize; as, to keep a feast.
  
                     I went with them to the house of God . . . with a
                     multitude that kept holyday.            --Ps. xlii. 4.
  
      {To keep at arm's length}. See under {Arm}, n.
  
      {To keep back}.
            (a) To reserve; to withhold. [bd]I will keep nothing back
                  from you.[b8] --Jer. xlii. 4.
            (b) To restrain; to hold back. [bd]Keep back thy servant
                  also from presumptuous sins.[b8] --Ps. xix. 13.
  
      {To keep company with}.
            (a) To frequent the society of; to associate with; as,
                  let youth keep company with the wise and good.
            (b) To accompany; to go with; as, to keep company with
                  one on a voyage; also, to pay court to, or accept
                  attentions from, with a view to marriage. [Colloq.]
                 
  
      {To keep counsel}. See under {Counsel}, n.
  
      {To keep down}.
            (a) To hold in subjection; to restrain; to hinder.
            (b) (Fine Arts) To subdue in tint or tone, as a portion
                  of a picture, so that the spectator's attention may
                  not be diverted from the more important parts of the
                  work.
  
      {To keep good} ([or] {bad}) {hours}, to be customarily early
            (or late) in returning home or in retiring to rest. -- {To
      keep house}.
            (a) To occupy a separate house or establishment, as with
                  one's family, as distinguished from boarding; to
                  manage domestic affairs.
            (b) (Eng. Bankrupt Law) To seclude one's self in one's
                  house in order to evade the demands of creditors. --
      {To keep one's hand in}, to keep in practice. -- {To keep
      open house}, to be hospitable. -- {To keep the peace} (Law),
            to avoid or to prevent a breach of the peace. -- {To keep
      school}, to govern, manage and instruct or teach a school, as
            a preceptor. -- {To keep a stiff upper lip}, to keep up
            one's courage. [Slang] -- {To keep term}.
            (a) (Eng. Universities) To reside during a term.
            (b) (Inns of Court) To eat a sufficient number of dinners
                  in hall to make the term count for the purpose of
                  being called to the bar. [Eng.] --Mozley & W.
  
      {To keep touch}. See under {Touch}, n.
  
      {To keep under}, to hold in subjection; hence, to oppress.
  
      {To keep up}.
            (a) To maintain; to prevent from falling or diminution;
                  as, to keep up the price of goods; to keep up one's
                  credit.
            (b) To maintain; to continue; to prevent from ceasing.
                  [bd]In joy, that which keeps up the action is the
                  desire to continue it.[b8] --Locke.
  
      Syn: To retain; detain; reserve; preserve; hold; restrain;
               maintain; sustain; support; withhold. -- To {Keep}.
  
      Usage: {Retain}, {Preserve}. Keep is the generic term, and is
                  often used where retain or preserve would too much
                  restrict the meaning; as, to keep silence, etc. Retain
                  denotes that we keep or hold things, as against
                  influences which might deprive us of them, or reasons
                  which might lead us to give them up; as, to retain
                  vivacity in old age; to retain counsel in a lawsuit;
                  to retain one's servant after a reverse of fortune.
                  Preserve denotes that we keep a thing against agencies
                  which might lead to its being destroyed or broken in
                  upon; as, to preserve one's health; to preserve
                  appearances.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
   Keep \Keep\, v. i.
      1. To remain in any position or state; to continue; to abide;
            to stay; as, to keep at a distance; to keep aloft; to keep
            near; to keep in the house; to keep before or behind; to
            keep in favor; to keep out of company, or out reach.
  
      2. To last; to endure; to remain unimpaired.
  
                     If the malt be not thoroughly dried, the ale it
                     makes will not keep.                           --Mortimer.
  
      3. To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell. [Now disused
            except locally or colloquially.]
  
                     Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps.
                                                                              --Shak.
  
      4. To take care; to be solicitous; to watch. [Obs.]
  
                     Keep that the lusts choke not the word of God that
                     is in us.                                          --Tyndale.
  
      5. To be in session; as, school keeps to-day. [Colloq.]
  
      {To keep from}, to abstain or refrain from.
  
      {To keep in with}, to keep on good terms with; as, to keep in
            with an opponent.
  
      {To keep on}, to go forward; to proceed; to continue to
            advance.
  
      {To keep to}, to adhere strictly to; not to neglect or
            deviate from; as, to keep to old customs; to keep to a
            rule; to keep to one's word or promise.
  
      {To keep up}, to remain unsubdued; also, not to be confined
            to one's bed.
No guarantee of accuracy or completeness!
©TU Chemnitz, 2006-2024
Your feedback:
Ad partners