Give up and keep are opposites. To give up something is to stop having or doing it — to surrender the effort or let the thing go (give up smoking, give up a seat). To keep something is to go on having or doing it — to hold on and carry on (keep a habit, keep going). One lets go; the other holds on.
These two pull opposite ways on whether you go on. Give up is the plain phrasal verb for stopping — you let the thing go or end the effort. Keep, from Old English cēpan ('to hold, observe'), is its opposite: you go on having it, or go on doing it (keep going, keep trying). Where give up sets the thing down, keep holds it. Give up is letting go; keep is holding on.
give up
To give up is to stop trying — the everyday, colloquial way to say the effort has ended. It aims at striving rather than things: you give up hope, give up smoking, give up on a dream, give up a seat. Where pursue presses on and achieve carries the effort through to its end, give up is the moment the pushing stops. It can mean a healthy letting-go of a habit, or simple defeat; either way, something that was being reached for is released.
keep
To keep something is to go on having it — the plainest, widest word for not letting go. It comes from Old English cēpan, 'to seize, hold, observe', and it has kept that open reach: you keep a promise, a secret, a seat, a pet, your temper. Unlike retain, which holds on deliberately against the chance of loss, keep can be effortless and ordinary. Its true opposite is to abandon — to set a thing down and walk away from it for good.
| give up | keep | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | to stop having or doing something | to go on having or doing something |
| The hand | opens, sets it down | stays closed, holds on |
| Effort | the effort ends | the effort continues |
| Often with | give up smoking, a seat, hope, trying | keep a habit, a promise, going, trying |
| Direction | let go | hold on / carry on |
| Example | He gave up running after the injury. | He kept running through the pain. |
They are opposites — let go or hold on. Give up is the figure who stops shoving the block and sits down as the light goes out: the thing released, the effort ended (give up smoking, give up trying). Keep is the hands folded around the light, never setting it down: you go on having it, or go on doing it (keep your seat, keep going). If you stop and let go, you give up; if you hold on and carry on, you keep.
give up
- iShe gave up sugar for the new year.
- iiDon't give up when it gets hard.
- iiiHe gave up his seat to someone older.
keep
- iKeep going — you're nearly there.
- iiShe kept her promise to the very end.
- iiiHe kept the habit of reading every night.
They are opposites, sharpest in the 'keep going' / 'give up' pairing: keep carries the action on, give up stops it. Note that keep can mean both to hold a thing and to continue an action, and give up opposes both — you give up a seat (a thing) or give up trying (an action).