/kiːp/
Translation
To have or hold something and not let it go, or to make something stay the same.
Word origin
From Old English cepan, meaning to seize, hold, or look after something.
- Origin
- Old English
- Root
- cepan
Grammar
Irregular verb. A full conjugation table for irregular verbs is coming soon. For now, use a reference like Wordreference or RAE.
Examples
.
"Keep" here means to have it and not give it back.
.
"Keeps" is the form used with he, she, or it.
.
"Kept" is the past form of "keep".
Used in
Stories
(16)The Broken Window
4 min read · Core 5000
The Clock in the Hall
4 min read · Core 5000
The Long Way Home
4 min read · Core 1000
The Passenger
4 min read · Core 5000
Two Gardens
4 min read · Core 5000
Not in Front of Them
5 min read · Core 1000
The Box in the Wood
5 min read · Core 5000
The First Letter
5 min read · Core 5000
The Midnight Piano
5 min read · Core 5000
The Night Route
5 min read · Core 5000
The Photograph
5 min read · Core 5000
The Register
5 min read · Core 5000
The Tuesday Visitor
5 min read · Core 5000
The Whale on the Beach
5 min read · Core 5000
Two Tickets to Paris
5 min read · Core 5000
The Last Light
8 min read · Core 5000
Grammar articles
(36)Adjective order in English: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose
Adverb position in English: before the verb, after be, and the just, still and already traps
Advanced articles in English: the zero article, the with names and places, and go to school vs go to the school
British vs American grammar: have got, gotten, the team are, and the other quiet differences
Cleft sentences in English: it was X who, what I need is, and how to move the emphasis
Compound nouns in English: car park, coffee cup, and why GREENhouse is not green HOUSE
Conditional sentences in English: the four types explained
Countable and uncountable nouns in English: advice, information, news and the ones you simply have to learn
Dummy subjects in English: it's raining, there's a problem, and why the subject slot is never empty
Ellipsis and substitution in English: I think so, neither do I, and the words you are allowed to leave out
Emphasis in English: I do like it, my own, the very, and how to push back
For, since, already, yet and still in English: which word, and where it goes in the sentence
Gerund and infinitive: which verb form comes next?
Hedging and vague language in English: sort of, a bit, -ish, stuff and or so
Indirect questions in English: Could you tell me where the station is, and the word order that goes with it
Irregular verbs in English: the full list by pattern
Linking words in English: however, although, despite, whereas and therefore
Mixed conditionals in English: past causes with present results, and present causes with past results
Modal verbs in English: rules, examples and how to use them
Nominalisation in English: arrive becomes arrival, decide becomes decision, and why written English turns actions into things
Participle clauses in English: -ing and -ed clauses, and the dangling participle trap
Advanced passive structures in English: the get-passive, it is said that, and passives with two objects
Passive voice in English: rules, examples and when to use it
Past continuous tense: was and were plus -ing, and when to use it instead of the past simple
Past modals in English: should have, could have, must have and might have
Phrasal verbs in English: rules, examples and how to use them
Quantifiers in English: some, any, much, many and more
Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns in English: myself, yourself, each other, and when English does not bother
Relative clauses in English: defining, non-defining and when to drop the pronoun
Reported speech in English: backshift, questions and commands
So, such, too and enough in English: words of degree and result
English tenses explained: all 12 with a master table
Time clauses in English: when, while, as soon as, until, before and after
Used to, would and be used to: talking about past habits and states in English
Wish and if only in English: wish + past, wish + past perfect, wish + would, and why I wish I would is wrong
Word formation in English: how suffixes build word families and give away the part of speech
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 3.