keep (1) — OET

keep1

verb

1 he kept the ball as a memento of the match | you should keep all the old forms:

retain, hold on to, keep for oneself, retain possession of, keep possession of, retain in one's possession, keep hold of, not part with, hold fast to, hold back;

save, store, store up, save up, hoard, put by, put aside, lay aside, set aside, reserve, keep in reserve, lay down;

collect, accumulate, amass, pile up, stockpile, garner;

North American set something by;

informal hang on to, stash away.

▷antonyms lose, throw away.

2 I was trying desperately to keep calm:

remain, continue to be, stay, carry on being, go on being, persist in being, not cease to be.

3 he keeps going on about the murder:

persist in, go on, keep on, carry on, continue, do something constantly, do something incessantly, do something continually, not stop doing something, persevere.

▷antonyms give up, stop.

4 I shan't keep you long:

detain, cause to stay, cause to wait, keep waiting, keep back, hold back, restrain;

delay, hold up, retard, make late, set back, slow down, slow up, hinder, obstruct, check, impede, block, hamper, constrain.

5 he had to keep his promise | some people kept the rules and some never tried:

comply with, obey, respect, observe, conform to, abide by, stick to, act in accordance with, act according to, have regard to, heed, follow, pay attention to, defer to, take notice of;

fulfil, carry out, act on, make good, be bound by, honour, keep to, redeem, keep faith with, stand by, adhere to;

execute, discharge, perform;

rare effectuate.

▷antonyms break, disobey.

6 I like to keep the old traditions:

preserve, keep alive, keep going, continue, keep up, carry on, hold on to, perpetuate, maintain, uphold, sustain, conserve, cherish, nurture.

▷antonyms abandon, discard.

7 the stand where her umbrella was kept:

store, house, stow, keep a place for, put away, place, put, deposit, stack, pile.

8 the shop keeps a good stock of parchment:

stock, have in stock, carry, have, have for sale, hold, sell, deal in, trade in, handle, market, supply, provide, offer for sale.

9 he has to steal to keep his family:

provide for, support, provide food for, provide sustenance for, provide board for, feed, keep alive, maintain, sustain, subsidize, finance;

take care of, look after, nurture, nourish.

10 she kept rabbits in the back garden:

breed, rear, raise, farm;

own, have as a pet, keep as a pet, look after, tend.

11 his parents kept a shop:

manage, run, own, be the proprietor of, be in charge of, administer, organize, direct, keep up, maintain, operate, look after, superintend.

12 the boy keeps the sheep | ‘God keep you,’ he muttered:

tend, look after, care for, take care of, mind, watch over, have charge of, be responsible for;

protect, keep safe, keep from harm, preserve, defend, guard, shield, shelter, safeguard, save.

13 today's consumers do not keep the Sabbath:

observe, respect, honour, hold sacred, recognize, acknowledge;

celebrate, mark, solemnize, ritualize, ceremonialize, commemorate.

▷antonyms ignore, neglect.

□ keep at

start work early and keep at it:

persevere with, persist with, be persistent in, keep going with, keep on at, be pertinacious in, show determination in, be resolute in, be steadfast in, not give up, not cease from, not falter in, carry on with, press on with, work away at, continue with, see through, struggle on with;

informal stick at, soldier on with, slave away at, peg away at, plug away at, hammer away at, bash on with, plough through.

▷antonyms give up.

□ keep something back

1 every week she kept back a portion of the money he gave her:

reserve, keep in reserve, put by, save, save up, store up, put aside, lay aside, set aside, hoard, treasure;

retain, hold back, keep, keep for oneself, hold on to, not part with, keep in one's possession;

North American set by;

informal keep for a rainy day, stash away.

2 she kept back the details from Ann:

conceal, keep secret, keep hidden, hide, withhold, suppress, keep quiet about, not tell, not reveal, not divulge, hush up.

▷antonyms disclose, divulge.

3 she could hardly keep back her tears:

suppress, stifle, withhold, choke back, fight back, hold back/in, restrain, repress, check, keep in check, keep under control, contain, curb, smother, swallow, bottle up, bite back.

▷antonyms let out.

□ keep from

Dinah bit her lip to keep from screaming:

refrain from, stop oneself, restrain oneself from, prevent oneself from, manage not to, forbear from, resist the temptation to, forgo, avoid.

□ keep someone from something

1 worry kept her from sleeping | he could hardly keep himself from laughing:

prevent, stop, hinder, impede, hamper;

restrain, check, curb, hold back, halt.

▷antonyms enable, allow.

2 keep him from harm:

preserve, protect, keep safe, afford protection to, guard, shield, shelter, save, safeguard, secure, defend.

▷antonyms endanger.

□ keep something from someone

now you know what your mother tried to keep from you:

keep secret, keep hidden, hide, conceal, withhold, hush up, not tell, suppress, censor, redact;

informal keep dark, not breathe a word of.

▷antonyms tell, divulge.

□ keep off

1 he'd tell the boy to keep off private land:

stay off, not enter, keep away from, stay away from, not trespass on, remain at a distance from, not go near.

▷antonyms enter.

2 Maud tried to keep off political subjects:

avoid, steer clear of, stay away from, shun, evade, skirt round, sidestep, dodge, pass over, bypass;

informal duck.

▷antonyms raise, mention.

3 the first thing she told me was to keep off alcohol:

abstain from, go without, do without, renounce, refrain from, give up, forgo, forswear, resist, turn aside from, swear off, not touch;

informal quit.

▷antonyms take up.

4 it'll be great if the rain keeps off:

stay away, hold off, not start, not begin, not come, not happen.

▷antonyms start.

□ keep on

1 they preferred to keep on working:

continue, go on, carry on, persist in, persevere in, keep going with;

soldier on, struggle on, see something through.

▷antonyms stop.

2 the commander kept on about vigilance:

talk constantly, talk endlessly, talk repeatedly, keep talking, go on, go on talking, go on and on, dwell on the subject, refer to repeatedly, repeat oneself, ramble on, rant on;

informal harp on;

British, informal witter on, rabbit on.

□ keep someone on

the boss decided to keep the man on:

continue to employ, keep employing, carry on employing, retain in one's service, not dismiss, not sack, keep in one's employ, retain the services of.

▷antonyms dismiss.

□ keep on at

they kept on at him to hurry up:

nag, go on at, keep at, harp on at, badger, chivvy, harass, hound, bully, pester, scold;

informal hassle;

North American, informal ride.

□ keep someone or something out

the doors are closed to keep out any unwelcome visitors:

exclude, deny access to, shut out, debar, disbar, bar, ban, prohibit, put an embargo on, embargo;

reject, blackball, ostracize, banish;

cut out, freeze out;

British send to Coventry.

▷antonyms accept, admit.

□ keep to

1 I've got to keep to the rules:

obey, abide by, observe, follow, comply with, adhere to, act in accordance with, conform to, be governed by, respect, defer to;

honour, keep, fulfil, act on, stand by, stick to, be bound by, be true to, keep faith with, make good, carry out.

2 keep to the path by the hedge:

follow, follow closely, stick to, stay on.

▷antonyms stray from.

3 speakers should keep to the point:

stick to, restrict oneself to, confine oneself to.

▷antonyms deviate from.

□ keep someone under

the local people are kept under by the army:

keep in subjection, keep in submission, hold down, keep down, keep under one's thumb, subdue, subject, suppress, repress, oppress, tyrannize over, tyrannize;

informal squash, squelch, trample on.

□ keep up

he had to run to keep up:

keep pace, keep abreast.

▷antonyms lag behind.

□ keep something up

keep up the good work |

she kept up a continuous conversation:

continue, keep on with, continue with, go on with, carry on with, persist with, persevere with;

maintain, carry on, keep going, sustain.

▷antonyms cease from.

□ keep up with

1 she walked fast to keep up with him:

keep pace with, keep abreast of;

rival, challenge, compete with, vie with, match, touch, equal.

▷antonyms lag behind.

2 even while travelling he kept up with events at home:

keep informed about, keep up to date with, keep in touch with, not lose track of, keep abreast of, keep an eye on, learn about, retain an interest in;

informal keep tabs on, keep a tab on.

▷antonyms lose touch with.

3 they kept up with him by means of Christmas cards:

remain in contact with, stay in touch with, maintain contact with, remain in correspondence with, remain in communication with, keep up one's friendship with, remain acquainted with.

▷antonyms lose touch with.

noun

he had no money to pay for his keep:

maintenance, upkeep, support, sustenance, subsistence, board, board and lodging, food, nourishment, nurture;

living, livelihood, means.

□ for keeps

informal

his performance earned him the trophy for keeps:

forever, for ever, for all time, for ever and ever, for always, once and for all, for good, for good and all, permanently, in perpetuity;

North American forevermore;

informal until kingdom come, until hell freezes over, until doomsday;

archaic for aye.

▷antonyms temporarily, for the time being.

keep Oxford Dictionary of English