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Keep up   /kip əp/   Listen
verb
Keep  v. t.  (past & past part. kept; pres. part. keeping)  
1.
To care; to desire. (Obs.) "I kepe not of armes for to yelp (boast)."
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." "That I may know what keeps me here with you." "If we would weigh and keep in our minds what we are considering, that would instruct us."
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." "Keep a stiff rein, and move but gently on." 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."
5.
To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard. "Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee."
6.
To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret. "Great are thy virtues... though kept from man."
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." "In her girlish age, she kept sheep on the moor."
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." "Every one of them kept house by himself."
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."
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." "Within this portal as I kept my watch."
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." "Him whom to love is to obey, and keep His great command."
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."
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."
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."
(b)
To restrain; to hold back. "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins."
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.)
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."
Synonyms: To retain; detain; reserve; preserve; hold; restrain; maintain; sustain; support; withhold. To Keep. 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.


Keep  v. i.  (past & past part. kept; pres. part. keeping)  
1.
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.
2.
To last; to endure; to remain unimpaired. "If the malt be not thoroughly dried, the ale it makes will not keep."
3.
To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell. (Now disused except locally or colloquially.) "Knock at his study, where, they say, he keeps."
4.
To take care; to be solicitous; to watch. (Obs.) "Keep that the lusts choke not the word of God that is in us."
5.
To be in session; as, school keeps to-day. (Colloq.)
To keep from, to abstain or refrain from.
To keep in with, to keep on good terms with; as, to keep in with an opponent.
To keep on, to go forward; to proceed; to continue to advance.
To keep to, to adhere strictly to; not to neglect or deviate from; as, to keep to old customs; to keep to a rule; to keep to one's word or promise.
To keep up, to remain unsubdued; also, not to be confined to one's bed.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Keep up" Quotes from Famous Books



... Valentinian was deservedly dreaded by them because he took care to keep up the numbers of his army by strong reinforcements, and because also he fortified both banks of the Rhine with lofty fortresses and castles, to prevent the enemy from ever passing over into our territory ...
— The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus • Ammianus Marcellinus
... tutor had last year relinquished his post, that his father was advanced in years and afflicted with disease, and had multifarious public duties to preoccupy his mind, so that he had as yet had no time to make arrangements for another tutor, and that all he did was no more than to keep up his old tasks; that as regards study, it was likewise necessary to have the company of one or two intimate friends, as then only, by dint of a frequent exchange of ideas and opinions, one could arrive at progress; and Pao-y ...
— Hung Lou Meng, Book I • Cao Xueqin
... floods of incessant fire make it look like a glowing rock, and which, by belching out flames, keeps its crest in an everlasting blaze. This thing awakens our wonder as much as those aforesaid; namely, when a land lying close to the extreme of cold can have such abundance of matter to keep up the heat, as to furnish eternal fires with unseen fuel, and supply an endless provocative to feed the burning. To this isle also, at fixed and appointed seasons, there drifts a boundless mass of ...
— The Danish History, Books I-IX • Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Learned")
... come to the Hall often, papa, while she is there," said the girl, returning to the subject which bewitched her; "and you must fetch me, of course. She admires you greatly; she says gentlemen in London have quite lost the fine manner that you keep up here, with your bow and your compliments. You must practise them on me now. We are to keep each other company as much as possible, she and I, while her husband and Douw go off together. You should have seen her mimic them—the two solemn, long-faced ...
— In the Valley • Harold Frederic
... of the pack horse, he spurred the maddened and terrified animal to the wildest gallop, a gallop which he could never keep up, but which for the time being distanced all pursuit. Then when he had winded his own beast, and knew that the pursuing horses must themselves be pretty well blown, he slipped from its back and began running like a hare across country in ...
— Tom Tufton's Travels • Evelyn Everett-Green


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