“keepest” is a form of
keep
UK [kiːp] · US [k̟çi(ː)p] verb, noun, proper noun
Forms keeps keeping kept keepest keptst keptest keepeth keepe
- verb (transitive) To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain. “to keep silence; to keep possession”
- verb (transitive) To remain faithful to a given promise or word. “to keep one's word; to keep one's promise”
- verb To maintain possession of. “I keep a small stock of painkillers for emergencies.”
- verb (ditransitive) To maintain the condition of; to preserve in a certain state. “I keep my specimens under glass to protect them.”
- verb (transitive) To record transactions, accounts, or events in. “I used to keep a diary.”
- verb (transitive) To enter (accounts, records, etc.) in a book.
- verb (archaic) To remain in; to be confined to.
- verb To restrain. “I keep my pet gerbil away from my brother.”
- noun (historical) The main tower of a castle or fortress, located within the castle walls.
- noun The food or money required to keep someone alive and healthy; one's support, maintenance. “He works as a cobbler's apprentice for his keep.”
- noun The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case. “to be in good keep”
- noun (engineering) A cap for holding something, such as a journal box, in place.
- noun (obsolete) The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge; notice.
- noun (obsolete) That which is kept in charge; a charge.
- noun (euphemistic, obsolete) A mistress (the other woman in an extramarital relationship, generally including sexual relations).
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
fullfill hold honor retain preserve protect donjon support livelihood living bread and butter sustenance dungeon maintain continue go on proceed go along hold on prevent observe keep on sustain stay fresh celebrate restrain keep back hold back keep open hold open
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English kepen (“to keep, guard, look after, watch”), from Old English cēpan (“to seize, hold, observe”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōpijan, from Proto-Germanic *kōpijaną (“to look, heed, watch, observe”) (compare West Frisian kypje (“to look”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵab-, *ǵāb- (“to look after”) (compare Lithuanian žẽbti (“to eat reluctantly”), Russian забо́та (zabóta, “care, worry”)).
The dialectal sense of the verb meaning “to put back” or “put away” may be analyzed as a semantic loan from a local language—compare Welsh cadw and Mandarin 收 (shōu).
From Middle English kepe, kep, from the verb (see above).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To care; to desire. [Obs.]
- verb 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.
- verb 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.
- verb To last; to endure; to remain unimpaired.
Etymology [OE. k, AS.c to keep, regard, desire, await, take, betake; cf. AS. copenere lover, OE. copnien to desire.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “keep”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details