1. (v. t.) To care; to desire.

2. (v. t.) 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.

3. (v. t.) To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or tenor.

4. (v. t.) To have in custody; to have in some place for preservation; to take charge of.

5. (v. t.) To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.

6. (v. t.) To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.

7. (v. t.) To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.

8. (v. t.) 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. (v. t.) To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.

10. (v. t.) To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to keep boarders.

11. (v. t.) To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.

12. (v. t.) To have habitually in stock for sale.

13. (v. t.) 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.

14. (v. t.) 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.

15. (v. t.) 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.

16. (v. t.) To observe duty, as a festival, etc. ; to celebrate; to solemnize; as, to keep a feast.

17. (v. i.) 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.

18. (v. i.) To last; to endure; to remain unimpaired.

19. (v. i.) To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.

20. (v. i.) To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.

21. (v. i.) To be in session; as, school keeps to-day.

22. (n.) The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge.

23. (n.) The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case; as, to be in good keep.

24. (n.) The means or provisions by which one is kept; maintenance; support; as, the keep of a horse.

25. (n.) 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.

26. (n.) That which is kept in charge; a charge.

27. (n.) A cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in place.

Thesaurus Entries