keeping

noun

keep·​ing ˈkē-piŋ 

1

: conformity

in keeping with good taste

out of keeping with the decor

2

: the act of one that keeps: such as

a

: custody, maintenance

b

: observance

c

: a reserving or preserving for future use

3

a

: the means by which something is kept : support, provision

b

: the state of being kept or the condition in which something is kept

the house is in good keeping

Synonyms

• care
• custodianship
• custody
• guardianship
• safekeeping
• trust
• ward

Examples of keeping in a Sentence

put the house keys into a neighbor's secure keeping while they were on vacation

my aunt has all of our family's old photographs in her keeping

Recent Examples on the Web

Susan Hinton, however, said cities and school districts can still invest their resources into keeping and installing grass fields, especially since artificial turf wears out after eight to 10 years and needs to be replaced. —Stephanie Lam, The Mercury News, 15 Oct. 2024

Excellent safety features The 2024 Kia Sorento comes standard with 10 standard adaptive driver assist systems including emergency braking, lane keeping and lane following. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

Opponents worry about the potential for misuse and prefer keeping in-person voting as the primary method. —USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024

All Congress would need to do is maintain the BSA’s record keeping requirements while ditching its reporting requirements and ensuring that law enforcement can only access those records with a valid search warrant. —Norbert Michel, Forbes, 16 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing keeping

• how are you keeping
• in keeping with
• in someone's keeping
• keeping a watching brief
• keeping company with the likes of
• keeping room
• out of keeping with
• record-keeping
• what is keeping someone

Kids Definition

keeping

noun

keep·​ing

ˈkē-piŋ

1

: watchful attention : care

2

: a proper or fitting relationship : harmony

in keeping with good taste