keeping 1 of 2

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as in custody
responsibility for the safety and well-being of someone or something put the house keys into a neighbor's secure keeping while they were on vacation

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as in shape
a state of being or fitness the estate hasn't been in good keeping since the owner suffered financial reverses

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

keeping

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verb

present participle of keep
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as in storing
to place somewhere for safekeeping or ready availability I keep extra toothbrushes for unexpected overnight guests

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as in supporting
to pay the living expenses of agreed to keep both of their children in off-campus housing until they graduated and found jobs

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of keeping
Noun
Sustained allegations include medication mismanagement due to lack of training, poor supervision of residents due to short-staffing and improper record-keeping, also due to inadequate training. Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2025 The report admonishes the Alameda County foster care system for ongoing structural deficiencies, including understaffing and poor record-keeping, while also noting that the agency’s plan to address service gaps may still not be enough to bring it up to standard. Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
After the Gators moved the ball without much resistance a week ago, the Longhorns shut down the Sooners, keeping them out of the end zone for the third time in four years. Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025 For the first half of her tenure, Engelbert seemed to enjoy a positive relationship with the players, securing major corporate partners, working with the union on a collective-bargaining agreement that looked historic at the time, keeping the league afloat during the COVID pandemic. Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for keeping
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keeping
Noun
  • At the time of writing that initial article, Conway had already been in custody for a month, and he was eventually extradited to Belgium a month later.
    Matt Slater, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Since 2021, 33 inmates have died in custody at a Sacramento County jail, according to Sacramento Bee reporting.
    Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • According to Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine, eating with your hands is hygienic (after having washed your hands, of course) and beneficial to your senses and digestion.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Immediately rub your hands with olive oil to remove most of the capsaicin, and then wash them thoroughly with soap and warm water.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Labor In a section of the report focused on workers’ rights and safety, the NCP reiterates its gripes about lack of supplier audit documentation and adherence to local law rather than international standards.
    Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 1 Oct. 2025
  • When Seedance and Seedream came out, his team conducted internal testing to compare their prompt adherence, image quality, speed, and cost to American competitors.
    Andrew R. Chow, Time, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • When cotton bolls are cleaned and prepped for spinning, the individual fibers that result are different lengths, diameters and shapes.
    SJ Studio, Sourcing Journal, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Head football coach and executive athletic director Riley Dodge said that the entire team is in great physical shape.
    Charles Baggarly October 9, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Eden has enjoyed a decades-long career in Hollywood, though many best remember her from the beloved 1960s sitcom celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.
    Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2025
  • The recent rise of weight loss medications coincided with social media influencers sharing ways to get smaller and no longer celebrating bodies of all sizes.
    Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Whether the move is about Netflix’s push into ads, gaining a better foothold locally or retaining subscribers — or all three — is yet to be discovered.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 12 Oct. 2025
  • Yossi Kuperwasser, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said retaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor will make rearmament harder — though not impossible — as humanitarian aid flows into Gaza.
    Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Yeah, but again, so fulfilling creatively.
    Vogue, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2025
  • And while the actress has her hands full with almost too many projects to count, from running her Rare Beauty empire to starring in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, Gomez has said that returning to her roots has been extremely fulfilling for her.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Sébastien Philippe of the University of Wisconsin–Madison is a nuclear security specialist who has studied past harms and potential risks of building, testing and storing nuclear weapons.
    Elizabeth Blair, NPR, 8 Oct. 2025
  • This spacious one works in an entryway, or for storing bedtime reads above your little one’s nightstand.
    Kate McGregor, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Keeping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keeping. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.

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