Keep v. t. [imp. & p. p. Kept p. pr. & vb. n. Keeping.]
 1. To care; to desire. [Obs.]
    I kepe not of armes for to yelp [boast].   --Chaucer.
 2. 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.
 If we lose the field,
 We can not keep the town.   --Shak.
    That I may know what keeps me here with you.   --Dryden.
    If we would weigh and keep in our minds what we are considering, that would instruct us.   --Locke.
 3. To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or tenor.
    His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal.   --Milton.
    Keep a stiff rein, and move but gently on.   --Addison.
 Note: ☞ In this sense it is often used with prepositions and adverbs, as to keep away, to keep down, to keep from, to keep in, out, or off, etc. “To keep off impertinence and solicitation from his superior.”
 4. To have in custody; to have in some place for preservation; to take charge of.
    The crown of Stephanus, first king of Hungary, was always kept in the castle of Vicegrade.   --Knolles.
 5. To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.
    Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee.   --Gen. xxviii. 15.
 6. To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.
    Great are thy virtues . . . though kept from man.   --Milton.
 7. To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.
    And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it.   --Gen. ii. 15.
    In her girlish age, she kept sheep on the moor.   --Carew.
 8. To record transactions, accounts, or events in; as, to keep books, a journal, etc.; also, to enter (as accounts, records, etc. ) in a book.
 9. To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.
    Like a pedant that keeps a school.   --Shak.
    Every one of them kept house by himself.   --Hayward.
 10. To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to keep boarders.
 11. To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.
    I keep but three men and a boy.   --Shak.
 12. To have habitually in stock for sale.
 13. 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.
    Both day and night did we keep company.   --Shak.
    Within this portal as I kept my watch.   --Smollett.
 14. 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.
    I have kept the faith.   --2 Tim. iv. 7.
 Him whom to love is to obey, and keep
 His great command.   --Milton.
 15. 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.
 'Tis hallowed ground;
 Fairies, and fawns, and satyrs do it keep.   --J. Fletcher.
 16. To observe duly, as a festival, etc.; to celebrate; to solemnize; as, to keep a feast.
    I went with them to the house of God . . . with a multitude that kept holyday.   --Ps. xlii. 4.
 To keep at arm's length. See under Arm, n.
 To keep back. (a) To reserve; to withhold. “I will keep nothing back from you.” --Jer. xlii. 4. (b) To restrain; to hold back. “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins.”  --Ps. xix. 13.
 To keep company with. (a) To frequent the society of; to associate with; as, let youth keep company with the wise and good. (b) To accompany; to go with; as, to keep company with one on a voyage; also, to pay court to, or accept attentions from, with a view to marriage. [Colloq.]
 To keep counsel. See under Counsel, n.
 To keep down. (a) To hold in subjection; to restrain; to hinder. (b) Fine Arts To subdue in tint or tone, as a portion of a picture, so that the spectator's attention may not be diverted from the more important parts of the work.
 To keep good hours  or To keep bad hours, to be customarily early (or late) in returning home or in retiring to rest.
 To keep house. (a) To occupy a separate house or establishment, as with one's family, as distinguished from boarding; to manage domestic affairs. (b) Eng. Bankrupt Law To seclude one's self in one's house in order to evade the demands of creditors.
 To keep one's hand in, to keep in practice.
 To keep open house, to be hospitable.
 To keep the peace Law, to avoid or to prevent a breach of the peace.
 To keep school, to govern, manage and instruct or teach a school, as a preceptor.
 To keep a stiff upper lip, to keep up one's courage. [Slang]
 To keep term. (a) Eng. Universities To reside during a term. (b) Inns of Court To eat a sufficient number of dinners in hall to make the term count for the purpose of being called to the bar. [Eng.] --Mozley & W.
 To keep touch. See under Touch, n.
 To keep under, to hold in subjection; hence, to oppress.
 To keep up. (a) To maintain; to prevent from falling or diminution; as, to keep up the price of goods; to keep up one's credit. (b) To maintain; to continue; to prevent from ceasing. “In joy, that which keeps up the action is the desire to continue it.”
 Syn: -- To retain; detain; reserve; preserve; hold; restrain; maintain; sustain; support; withhold. -- To Keep. Usage: Retain, Preserve. Keep is the generic term, and is often used where retain or preserve would too much restrict the meaning; as, to keep silence, etc. Retain denotes that we keep or hold things, as against influences which might deprive us of them, or reasons which might lead us to give them up; as, to retain vivacity in old age; to retain counsel in a lawsuit; to retain one's servant after a reverse of fortune. Preserve denotes that we keep a thing against agencies which might lead to its being destroyed or broken in upon; as, to preserve one's health; to preserve appearances.


 House n.; pl. Houses
 1. A structure intended or used as a habitation or shelter for animals of any kind; but especially, a building or edifice for the habitation of man; a dwelling place, a mansion.
    Houses are built to live in; not to look on.   --Bacon.
 Bees with smoke and doves with noisome stench
 Are from their hives and houses driven away.   --Shak.
 2. Household affairs; domestic concerns; particularly in the phrase to keep house. See below.
 3. Those who dwell in the same house; a household.
    One that feared God with all his house.   --Acts x. 2.
 4. A family of ancestors, descendants, and kindred; a race of persons from the same stock; a tribe; especially, a noble family or an illustrious race; as, the house of Austria; the house of Hanover; the house of Israel.
 The last remaining pillar of their house,
 The one transmitter of their ancient name.   --Tennyson.
 5. One of the estates of a kingdom or other government assembled in parliament or legislature; a body of men united in a legislative capacity; as, the House of Lords; the House of Commons; the House of Representatives; also, a quorum of such a body. See Congress, and Parliament.
 6. Com. A firm, or commercial establishment.
 7. A public house; an inn; a hotel.
 8. Astrol. A twelfth part of the heavens, as divided by six circles intersecting at the north and south points of the horizon, used by astrologers in noting the positions of the heavenly bodies, and casting horoscopes or nativities. The houses were regarded as fixed in respect to the horizon, and numbered from the one at the eastern horizon, called the ascendant, first house, or house of life, downward, or in the direction of the earth's revolution, the stars and planets passing through them in the reverse order every twenty-four hours.
 9. A square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of a piece.
 10. An audience; an assembly of hearers, as at a lecture, a theater, etc.; as, a thin or a full house.
 11. The body, as the habitation of the soul.
 This mortal house I'll ruin,
 Do Cæsar what he can.   --Shak.
 12. Usage: [With an adj., as narrow, dark, etc.] The grave. “The narrow house.”
 Note: ☞ House is much used adjectively and as the first element of compounds. The sense is usually obvious; as, house cricket, housemaid, house painter, housework.
 House ant Zool., a very small, yellowish brown ant (Myrmica molesta), which often infests houses, and sometimes becomes a great pest.
 House of bishops Prot. Epis. Ch., one of the two bodies composing a general convertion, the other being House of Clerical and Lay Deputies.
 House boat, a covered boat used as a dwelling.
 House of call, a place, usually a public house, where journeymen connected with a particular trade assemble when out of work, ready for the call of employers. [Eng.] --Simonds.
 House car Railroad, a freight car with inclosing sides and a roof; a box car.
 House of correction. See Correction.
 House cricket Zool., a European cricket (Gryllus domesticus), which frequently lives in houses, between the bricks of chimneys and fireplaces. It is noted for the loud chirping or stridulation of the males.
 House dog, a dog kept in or about a dwelling house.
 House finch Zool., the burion.
 House flag, a flag denoting the commercial house to which a merchant vessel belongs.
 House fly Zool., a common fly (esp. Musca domestica), which infests houses both in Europe and America. Its larva is a maggot which lives in decaying substances or excrement, about sink drains, etc.
 House of God, a temple or church.
 House of ill fame. See Ill fame under Ill, a.
 House martin Zool., a common European swallow (Hirundo urbica). It has feathered feet, and builds its nests of mud against the walls of buildings. Called also house swallow, and window martin.
 House mouse Zool., the common mouse (Mus musculus).
 House physician, the resident medical adviser of a hospital or other public institution.
 House snake Zool., the milk snake.
 House sparrow Zool., the common European sparrow (Passer domesticus). It has recently been introduced into America, where it has become very abundant, esp. in cities. Called also thatch sparrow.
 House spider Zool., any spider which habitually lives in houses. Among the most common species are Theridium tepidariorum and Tegenaria domestica.
 House surgeon, the resident surgeon of a hospital.
 House wren Zool., the common wren of the Eastern United States (Troglodytes aëdon). It is common about houses and in gardens, and is noted for its vivacity, and loud musical notes. See Wren.
 Religious house, a monastery or convent.
 The White House, the official residence of the President of the United States; -- hence, colloquially, the office of President.
 To bring down the house. See under Bring.
 To keep house, to maintain an independent domestic establishment.
 To keep open house, to entertain friends at all times.
 Syn: -- Dwelling; residence; abode. See Tenement.