keeping

1 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 Synonyms care, custodianship, guardianship, custody, safekeeping, trust, wardRelated Words control, governorship, hand(s), management, superintendence, supervision

2 the fact or state of having (something) at one's disposal my aunt has all of our family's old photographs in her keeping Synonyms control, enjoyment, hands, possessionRelated Words ownership, proprietorship; authority, command, dominion, mastery, power; repossession, retention; claiming, collaring, commandeering, confiscation, procurementNear Antonyms dispossession, relinquishment, surrendering, transferalAntonyms nonpossession

3 the following of a custom, rule, or law the keeping of religious laws and traditions Synonyms abidance, adherence, compliance, conformance, conformity, observance, obedience, observationRelated Words deference, honor, regard, respect, upholding; accession, acquiescence, submission, surrender; attendance, attention, heed, noticeNear Antonyms brush-off, disregard, ignoring; delinquency, dereliction, forgetting, neglect, overlooking; offense (or offence), sin, wrong; challenge, defiance, flouting, rebellionAntonyms breach, contravention, infraction, infringement, nonobservance, transgression, trespass, violation

4 a state of being or fitness the estate hasn't been in good keeping since the owner suffered financial reverses Synonyms estate, fettle, form, health, condition, kilter, nick [British], order, repair, shape, trimRelated Words practice (also practise); pass, phase, stage; footing, picture, posture, scene, status, situation; rank, standingNear Antonyms disorder, disrepair