to care; to desire.-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.-to cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or tenor.-to have in custody; to have in some place for preservation; to take charge of.-to preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.-to preserve from discovery or publicity; not to communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.-to attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.-to record transactions, accounts, or events in; as, to keep books, a journal, etc.  ; also, to enter (as accounts, records, etc. ) in a book.-to maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.-to supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to keep boarders.-to have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.-to have habitually in stock for sale.-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.-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.-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.-to observe duty, as a festival, etc. ; to celebrate; to solemnize; as, to keep a feast.-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.-to last; to endure; to remain unimpaired.-to reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.-to take care; to be solicitous; to watch.-to be in session; as, school keeps to-day.-the act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge.-the state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case; as, to be in good keep.-the means or provisions by which one is kept; maintenance; support; as, the keep of a horse.-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.-that which is kept in charge; a charge.-a cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in place.