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"
Used in a Sentence
keep
How to use keep in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for keep.
Editorial note
If the venture can pay you to keep at it, that's great.
Examples19
Definitions25
Parts of speech2
Quick take
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"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of keep gathered in one view.
the main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress
a cell in a jail or prison
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for keep.
noun
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"
See also: support, livelihood, living, sustenance
noun
the main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress
noun
a cell in a jail or prison
See also: hold
verb
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"
verb
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"
verb
retain possession of; "Can I keep my old stuffed animals?"; "She kept her maiden name after she married"
verb
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"
See also: prevent
verb
conform one's action or practice to; "keep appointments"; "she never keeps her promises"; "We kept to the original conditions of the contract"
See also: observe
verb
stick to correctly or closely; "The pianist kept time with the metronome"; "keep count"; "I cannot keep track of all my employees"
verb
look after; be the keeper of; have charge of; "He keeps the shop when I am gone"
verb
maintain by writing regular records; "keep a diary"; "maintain a record"; "keep notes"
See also: maintain
verb
supply with room and board; "He is keeping three women in the guest cottage"; "keep boarders"
verb
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"
verb
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"
verb
fail to spoil or rot; "These potatoes keep for a long time"
verb
behave as expected during of holidays or rites; "Keep the commandments"; "celebrate Christmas"; "Observe Yom Kippur"
verb
keep under control; keep in check; "suppress a smile"; "Keep your temper"; "keep your cool"
See also: restrain
verb
maintain in safety from injury, harm, or danger; "May God keep you"
See also: preserve
verb
raise; "She keeps a few chickens in the yard"; "he keeps bees"
verb
retain rights to; "keep my job for me while I give birth"; "keep my seat, please"; "keep open the possibility of a merger"
See also: save
verb
store or keep customarily; "Where do you keep your gardening tools?"
verb
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"
verb
maintain for use and service; "I keep a car in the countryside"; "She keeps an apartment in Paris for her shopping trips"
See also: maintain
verb
hold and prevent from leaving; "The student was kept after school"
verb
prevent (food) from rotting; "preserved meats"; "keep potatoes fresh"
See also: preserve
Example sentences
If the venture can pay you to keep at it, that's great.
Given China's rise, its wise long-term to keep a presence in the region.
Just to keep things in perspective, the goal of Touch ID is not to be unhackable.
I will keep my ears open for you in case any of my friends would be a good fit for your position.
I make every attempt to keep these jokes private between my friends and I, but I'm sure others have heard me make them.
Or if they find they need a law to make conduct lawful, they just write a new law or reinterpret an old one and keep on going.
Do not post anything like this again, and kindly keep the douchey Maxim-magazine pastiche off this site as well.
Some people love this work, they can stay useful and "in the game", but some hate it because it comes with the cachet of being stale and not keeping up with the times.
Most of the time the reporters overstate the research, the scientists keep the data secret, and the general public is left scratching their heads.
You also start to get a long view on things, where all these new things coming out don't really seem to offer any advantage to you that keeps development fun.
What's wrong with just having me fill out a survey of my interests if that's what you want?Facebook is the only account that I keep to myself and people who know me.
We can't keep launching products and pretending we'll turn them into magical beautiful extensible platforms later.
Despite having insurance, there continue to be ongoing costs and once I go on long-term disability I'll be paying cobra rates to keep the same coverage.
Why would he keep using something like that for 20 years?He told me that as computers modernized, it became a bit of a status symbol to have an older-looking system spewing out reams of reports.
If you're delaying on this point out of some idea of wanting to "try to fix things first" or "not wanting to be the bad guy," you're just shooting yourself in the foot and downing blood thinners to keep the wound from clotting.
This came about because of the long-obsolete notion that Internet access is a difficult and expensive commodity that requires that the client must keep a mirror of what's on the server.
It's plainly obvious that you aren't expected to actually be fiscally sound--otherwise why would they keep flooding you with credit invitations?Cars are expensive and limited in utility.
I remember at the time reading newspaper articles claiming this was "just going to be used to keep drugs off the streets" and how "law enforcement are outgunned and now can defend themselves against drug dealers".It was obvious to me then that this was a violation of due process.
Quite often though industry biases will engage and they'll be put on duty keeping some legacy system alive because their deep knowledge of the system lets the company put 1 guy maintaining half a million lines of code in perpetuity vs. 10 young guys maintaining the same, who all wanting to leave after a few years to build more skills.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use keep in a sentence?
If the venture can pay you to keep at it, that's great.
What does keep mean?
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"
What part of speech is keep?
keep is commonly used as noun, verb.