(v. t.) To care; to desire.
(v. t.) To hold; to restrain from departure or removal; not to let
go of; to retain in one's power or possession; not to lose; to retain;
to detain.
(v. t.) To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to
maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or tenor.
(v. t.) To have in custody; to have in some place for
preservation; to take charge of.
(v. t.) To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.
(v. t.) To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to
communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.
(v. t.) To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.
(v. t.) To record transactions, accounts, or events in; as, to
keep books, a journal, etc. ; also, to enter (as accounts, records,
etc. ) in a book.
(v. t.) To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the
like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.
(v. t.) To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to
keep boarders.
(v. t.) To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an
assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.
(v. t.) To have habitually in stock for sale.
(v. t.) To continue in, as a course or mode of action; not to
intermit or fall from; to hold to; to maintain; as, to keep silence; to
keep one's word; to keep possession.
(v. t.) To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from
or violate; to practice or perform, as duty; not to neglect; to be
faithful to.
(v. t.) To confine one's self to; not to quit; to remain in; as,
to keep one's house, room, bed, etc. ; hence, to haunt; to frequent.
(v. t.) To observe duty, as a festival, etc. ; to celebrate; to
solemnize; as, to keep a feast.
(v. i.) To remain in any position or state; to continue; to abide;
to stay; as, to keep at a distance; to keep aloft; to keep near; to
keep in the house; to keep before or behind; to keep in favor; to keep
out of company, or out reach.
(v. i.) To last; to endure; to remain unimpaired.
(v. i.) To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.
(v. i.) To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.
(v. i.) To be in session; as, school keeps to-day.
(n.) The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed;
charge.
(n.) The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition;
case; as, to be in good keep.
(n.) The means or provisions by which one is kept; maintenance;
support; as, the keep of a horse.
(n.) That which keeps or protects; a stronghold; a fortress; a
castle; specifically, the strongest and securest part of a castle,
often used as a place of residence by the lord of the castle,
especially during a siege; the donjon. See Illust. of Castle.
(n.) That which is kept in charge; a charge.
(n.) A cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in place.
