lexicow

keep

/kiːp//kiːp/·verb
I watch a pair of hands take in a small warm light and fold it against the chest, the way you would shelter a flame indoors. Nothing is chasing it and nothing is tugging it away; the hands just stay closed. A fleck of dust drifts in as if to carry the glow off, drifts past, and the grip does not so much as twitch. The light neither swells nor fades — it simply goes on, held, because no one ever decided to set it down.
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Definition

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.

Examples

  • It takes real effort to keep your composure when everyone around you is starting to panic.
  • Careful notes help you keep facts that you would otherwise lose within a week.
  • They chose to keep the family house long after it would have been easier to abandon it.

Collocations

keep a promise·keep a secret·keep a record·keep in touch·keep track of

Synonyms

retain·hold·preserve·maintain·save

Antonyms

abandon·release·discard·lose

Word family

keeper (noun)·keeping (noun)·upkeep (noun)

In TOEFL & IELTS

An everyday, high-frequency verb; for academic register reach for retain, preserve or maintain instead. Note the phrasal family (keep up, keep on, keep to) and keep + -ing for continued action (keep trying). Useful collocations: keep a record / keep pace with / keep track of. Don't blur it with retain — retain adds the sense of holding on against a force or the risk of loss.