1
as in to celebrate
to mark with an appropriate practice, rite, or ceremony
keep the Sabbath by not working
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to retain
to continue to have in one's possession or power
the money is yours to keep keep my secret and don't tell it to anyone
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to fulfill
to do what is required by the terms of
make sure you keep your promise to help out at the homeless shelter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
5
as in to maintain
to pay the living expenses of
agreed to keep both of their children in off-campus housing until they graduated and found jobs
Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in to manage
to look after and make decisions about
enlisted a relative to keep the store while she was away
Synonyms & Similar Words
7
as in to control
to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)
try to keep your composure no matter what happens
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
8
as in to protect
to drive danger or attack away from
may God bless and keep you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in preserving
the act or activity of keeping something in an existing and usually satisfactory condition
the keep of the stable is mainly left to the two equine-loving daughters
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 keep
Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2025
Head coach Éric Chelle, tasked with steadying the ship after recent stumbles, kept his cards close.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2025
Still, the chair earned its keep.
—Jenny Wiegand, Outside, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for keep
Verb
With its outstanding tennis and pickleball program, renowned surf school, and kids' clubs and beach clubs, there’s no shortage of activities to keep everyone entertained.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2025
Head coach Éric Chelle, tasked with steadying the ship after recent stumbles, kept his cards close.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
But certain regimes remain tricky to simulate perfectly, such as unsteady interactions at off‑design angles, boundary‑layer transition, and inlet buzz, which is why scaled wind‑tunnel models still earn their keep validating corner cases before full‑scale testing.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2025
Still, the chair earned its keep.
—Jenny Wiegand, Outside, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for keep
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keep
Verb
-
Dozens of family, friends and coworkers gathered for a vigil outside of Broadbelt’s Miami Gardens home to celebrate her life and comfort each other with food and prayer.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Bateman's character, Vince Friedken, battles a gambling addiction in a trailer for the crime thriller, as Law's Jake Friedken celebrates the growing success of his buzzy establishment.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The product launches demonstrate how Europe’s legacy manufacturers are taking the fight to their Chinese rivals, in a bid to both retain market share in the European Union and offset declining sales in China, the world’s largest car market.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025
-
While most wellness apps retain just 3–4% of users after a month (30% for human coaches), Wellness Coach keeps 87% engaged.—
Gil Press,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But alas, the March 2005 issue had me on the inside of a pullout cover to fulfill their legal obligation.—
Mark Gray,
PEOPLE,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Buried under the charred rubble on Life Changers Global Ministries’ parking lot is a promise that will be fulfilled, the decades-old south Phoenix church’s pastor is quick to assure.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
To store fresh dill leaves, wrap the cut dill stems loosely in a damp paper towel and store it in a resealable bag in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
5 Sep. 2025
-
We, in collaboration with our partners, store and/or access information on a user's device, including but not limited to IP addresses, unique identifiers, and browsing data stored in cookies, in order to process personal data.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Athletic maintains full editorial independence.—
Data Skrive,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The watch proved successful after managing to catch a man littering hate flyers across the neighborhood.—
David Ferrara,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
5 Sep. 2025
-
He is known for his advocacy in advancing preventive healthcare models, with an emphasis on the role of lifestyle interventions in managing chronic diseases and enhancing overall well-being.—
Verywell Health,
Verywell Health,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
After the fire is fully contained, the next step is to control it.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Merino wool also has natural temperature-regulating and odor-controlling properties—both of which are ideal for hiking.—
Anne Taylor,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Michôd says that Sweeney was initially tentative about Martin's involvement, wanting to protect her own creative space, but opened up upon realizing that Martin wasn't going to try and control her performance.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Time,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Sources close to Spence, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, described him as an introvert to The Athletic in February.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Keep.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keep. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share