SG Heritage Dictionary

Keep [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. Custody; guard. [Little used.]

2. Colloquially, case; condition; as in good keep

3. Guardianship; restraint. [Little used.]

4. A place of confinement; in old castles, the dungeon.

Keep [Verb intransitive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. To remain in any state; 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 of reach.

2. To last; to endure; not to perish or be impaired. Seek for winter's use apples that will keep

3. If the malt is not thoroughly dried, the ale it makes will not keep

4. To lodge; to dwell; to reside for a time.

5. Knock at the study, where, they say, he keeps.

6. To keep to, to adhere strictly; 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.

7. To keep on, to go forward; to proceed; to continue to advance.

8. To keep up, to remain unsubdued; or not to be confined to one's bed.

9. In popular language, this word signifies to continue; to repeat continually; not to cease.

Keep [Verb transitive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. preterit tense and participle passive kept. [Latin habeo, and capio.]

2. To hold; to retain in one's power or possession; not to lose or part with; as, to keep a house or a farm; to keep any thing in the memory, mind or heart.

3. To have in custody for security or preservation.

4. The crown of Stephanus, first king of Hungary, was always kept in the castle of Vicegrade.

5. To preserve; to retain.

6. The Lord God, merciful and gracious, keeping mercy for thousands-- Exodus 34:18 .

7. To preserve from falling or from danger; to protect; to guard or sustain.

8. And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee. Genesis 28:15 .

9. Luke 4:10 .

10. To hold or restrain from departure; to detain.

11. --That I may know what keeps me here with you.

12. To tend; to have the care of.

13. And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. Genesis 2:15 .

14. To tend; to feed; to pasture; as, to keep a flock of sheep or a herd of cattle in a yard or in a field. He keeps his horses on oats or on hay.

15. To preserve in any tenor or state. keep a stiff rein.

16. KEEP the constitution sound.

17. To regard; to attend to.

18. While the stars and course of heaven I keep--

19. To hold in any state; as, to keep in order.

20. To continue any state, course or action; as, to keep silence; to keep the same road or the same pace; to keep reading or talking; to keep a given distance.

21. To practice; to do or perform; to obey; to observe in practice; not to neglect or violate; as, to keep the laws, statutes or commandments of God.

22. To fulfill; to perform; as, to keep one's word, promise or covenant.

23. To practice; to use habitually; as, to keep bad hours.

24. To copy carefully.

25. Her servant's eyes were fix'd upon her face,

26. And as she moved or turned, her motions viewed,

27. Her measures kept, and step by step pursued.

28. To observe or solemnize.

29. To board; to maintain; to supply with necessaries of life. The men are kept at a moderate price per week.

30. To have in the house; to entertain; as, to keep lodgers.

31. To maintain; not to intermit; as, to keep watch or guard.

32. To hold in one's own bosom; to confine to one's own knowledge; not to disclose or communicate to others; not to betray; as, to keep a secret; to keep one's own counsel.

33. To have in pay; as, to keep a servant.

34. To keep back, to reserve; to withhold; not to disclose or communicate.

35. I will keep nothing back from you. Jeremiah 42:4 .

36. To restrain; ; to prevent from advancing.

37. KEEP back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. Psalms 19:13 .

38. To reserve; to withhold; not to deliver. Acts 5:3 .

39. To keep company with, to frequent the society of; to associate with. Let youth keep company with the wise and good.

40. To accompany; to go with; as, to keep company with one on a journey or voyage.

41. To keep down, to prevent from rising; not to lift or suffer to be raised.

42. To keep in, to prevent from escape; to hold in confinement.

43. To conceal; not to tell or disclose.

44. To restrain; to curb.

45. To keep off, to hinder from approach or attack; as, to keep off an enemy or an evil.

46. To keep under, to restrain; to hold in subjection; as, to keep under an antagonist or a conquered country; to keep under the appetites and passions.

47. To keep up, to maintain; to prevent from falling or diminution; as, to keep up the price of goods; to keep up one's credit.

48. To maintain; to continue; to hinder from ceasing.

49. In joy, that which keeps up the action is the desire to continue it.keep out, to hinder from entering or taking possession.

50. To keep bed, to remain in bed without rising; to be confined to one's bed.

51. To keep house, to maintain a family state.

52. His income enables him to keep house.

53. To remain in the house; to be confined.

54. His feeble health obliges him to keep house.

55. To keep from, to restrain; to prevent approach.

56. To keep a school, to maintain or support it; as, the town or its inhabitants keep ten schools; more properly, to govern and instruct or teach a school, as a preceptor.

Keep [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge.

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.

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.

5. That which is kept in charge; a charge.

6. A cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in place.

Keep [Verb intransitive] Webster's Dictionary 1913

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.

3. To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.

4. To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.

5. To be in session; as, school keeps to-day.

Keep [Verb transitive] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. To care; to desire.

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.

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

4. To have in custody; to have in some place for preservation; to take charge of.

5. To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.

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

7. To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Keeper [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. One who keeps; one that holds or has possession of any thing.

2. One who retains in custody; one who has the care of a prison and the custody of prisoners.

3. One who has the care of a park or other inclosure, or the custody of beasts; as the keeper of a park, a pound, or of sheep.

4. One who has the care, custody or superintendence of any thing.

5. In Great Britain, the keeper of the great seal, is a lord by his office, and one of the privy council. All royal grants, commissions and charters pass through his hands. He is constituted lord-keeper by the delivery of the great seal. The keeper of the privy seal is also a lord by his office, and a member of the privy council.

Keeper [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. One who, or that which, keeps; one who, or that which, holds or has possession of anything.

2. One who retains in custody; one who has the care of a prison and the charge of prisoners.

3. One who has the care, custody, or superintendence of anything; as, the keeper of a park, a pound, of sheep, of a gate, etc. ; the keeper of attached property; hence, one who saves from harm; a defender; a preserver.

4. One who remains or keeps in a place or position.

5. A ring, strap, clamp, or any device for holding an object in place; as: (a) The box on a door jamb into which the bolt of a lock protrudes, when shot. (b) A ring serving to keep another ring on the finger. (c) A loop near the buckle of a strap to receive the end of the strap.

6. A fruit that keeps well; as, the Roxbury Russet is a good keeper.

Keepership [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

The office of a keeper. [Little used.]

Keepership [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The office or position of a keeper.

Keeping [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. A holding; restraint; custody; guard; preservation.

2. Feed; fodder. The cattle have good keeping

3. In painting, a representation of objects in the manner they appear to the eye at different distance from it.

Keeping [Participle present tense] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Holding; restraining; preserving; guarding; protecting; performing.

Keeping [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. A holding; restraint; custody; guard; charge; care; preservation.

2. Maintenance; support; provision; feed; as, the cattle have good keeping.

3. Conformity; congruity; harmony; consistency; as, these subjects are in keeping with each other.

4. Harmony or correspondence between the different parts of a work of art; as, the foreground of this painting is not in keeping.

Keeping [Present participle and verbal noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Keep

Keepsake [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Any thing kept, or given to be kept for the sake of the giver; a token of friendship.

Keepsake [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Anything kept, or given to be kept, for the sake of the giver; a token of friendship.

King James Bible KJV Bible

Berean Standard Bible BSB Bible

540 KJV and 408 BSB verses contain “keep” — showing the first 20. Show all 722 verses (searchable)

Genesis 2:15

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it.

Genesis 3:24

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 4:2

And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil.

Genesis 4:9

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?

And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Genesis 6:19

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

And you are to bring two of every living creature into the ark—male and female—to keep them alive with you.

Genesis 6:20

Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

Two of every kind of bird and animal and crawling creature will come to you to be kept alive.

Genesis 7:3

Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

and seven pairs of every kind of bird of the air, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of all the earth.

Genesis 17:9

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you.

Genesis 17:10

This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised.

Genesis 18:19

For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”

Genesis 28:15

And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Genesis 28:20

And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,

Genesis 30:31

And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:

“What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks.

Genesis 31:49

And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

It was also called Mizpah, because Laban said, “May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent from each other.

Genesis 32:16

And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

He entrusted them to his servants in separate herds and told them, “Go on ahead of me, and keep some distance between the herds.”

Genesis 33:9

And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.

“I already have plenty, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what belongs to you.”

Genesis 38:23

And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

“Let her keep the items,” Judah replied. “Otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you could not find her.”

Genesis 39:21

But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

the LORD was with him and extended kindness to him, granting him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

Genesis 39:22

And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.

And the warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care, so that he was responsible for all that was done in the prison.

Genesis 39:23

The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

The warden did not concern himself with anything under Joseph’s care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.