Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One that keeps, especially:
- n. An attendant, a guard, or a warden.
- n. One that has the charge or care of something: a lion keeper; the keeper of the budget.
- n. Sports A goalkeeper.
- n. Football A play made by the quarterback who keeps the ball after it is snapped and then runs with it.
- n. Informal One that is worth keeping, especially a fish large enough to be legally caught.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One who keeps, observes, or obeys.
- n. One who has the charge or keeping of anything; a caretaker; a custodian: often forming the second element of a compound: as, the keeper of the seals; a house keeper; a game keeper.
- n. One who maintains or carries on as proprietor; an owner or independent controller: as, a store keeper; an inn keeper.
- n. One who stays or abides.
- n. One who holds or maintains possession.
- n. That which keeps; something that serves as a guard or protection. Specifically— A ring which keeps another on the finger. See
guard-ring . - n. A key which admits of being readily inserted and removed at pleasure to keep an object in its place.
- n. A loop on the end of a strap fitted with a bnckle, through which the other end is run after passing through the buckle; a small clasp.
- n. The box on a door-jamb into which the bolt of a lock protrndes when shot.
- n. A jamnut.
- n. A piece of soft iron placed in contact with the poles of a magnet when not in use, which tends, by induction, to maintain and even increase the power of the magnet; an armature.
- n. In the electromagnet of a dynamo, one of the lateral projections from the polar extremities to bring them just as near to the revolving armature as they can be without actually touching it.
- n. A reelkeeper.
- n. The mousing of a hook, which keeps it from being accidentally disengaged
- n. The gripper of the flint in a flint-lock gun.
- n. In cricket, a wicket-keeper or stumper.
Wiktionary
- n. One who keeps.
- n. slang A person or thing worth keeping.
- n. A person charged with guarding or caring for, storing, or maintaining something; a custodian, a guard. Short form of gamekeeper (Wikipedia).
- n. sports The player charged with guarding a goal or wicket. Short form of goalkeeper, wicketkeeper.
- n. A part of a mechanism that catches or retains another part, for example the part of a door lock that fits in the frame and receives the bolt.
- n. American football An offensive play in which the quarterback runs toward the goal with the ball after it is snapped.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. One who, or that which, keeps; one who, or that which, holds or has possession of anything.
- n. One who retains in custody; one who has the care of a prison and the charge of prisoners.
- n. One who has the care, custody, or superintendence of anything one who saves from harm; a defender; a preserver.
- n. One who remains or keeps in a place or position.
- n. A ring, strap, clamp, or any device for holding an object in place
- n. The box on a door jamb into which the bolt of a lock protrudes, when shot.
- n. A ring serving to keep another ring on the finger.
- n. A loop near the buckle of a strap to receive the end of the strap.
- n. A fruit that keeps well. Anything perishable that remains in good condition longer than usual.
- n. An iron bar that is placed on the poles of a horseshoe magnet, and held in place there by the magnetic force, to preserve the strength of the magnet when not in use.
WordNet 3.0
- n. someone in charge of other people
- n. one having charge of buildings or grounds or animals
Etymologies
- keep + -er (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Selden says Al Sameri means “keeper,” and that Aaron was so called, because he was the _keeper_ or “guardian of the people.””
“A brief glance at my keeper shelf doesn't give me many ideas for recs, being the impossible-to-please gal that I am - but if you haven't already, I'd urge you to read The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe - the rest of the series (so far) wasn't in "keeper" territory for me, but the first installment is nothing short of enchanting.”
“The best archivist and memory keeper is the internet, the only place where the news lives without censure.”
“They also had a cabin keeper that cleaned the ducks and cooked them into wonderful meals only bad part was she was 86.”
“With one touch and feint he outfoxed the centreback and took Song's cross under control, then spanked the ball past the keeper from the edge of the area.”
“Another good consistent time keeper is the pulsar.”
“But first, you tell me by what criteria a shop keeper is supposed to recognize who is and is not an interstate traveler.”
“He's a great pick in keeper leagues, but don't pay top dollar for this year's version of a 2008 Joba Chamberlain.”
“Especially in keeper leagues, the point of no return coincides with the trade deadline.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘keeper’.
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AGRI - apiculture
acacia, alfalfa, Arbutus unedo, ash content, baker's honey, Banksia menziesii, bee plant, Bell heather, blackberry honey, blend of honeys, blossom honey, borage and 183 more...
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RELI - Genesis
Protagonists and relevant words in the Book of Creation (Source: King James Bible)
wrath, leaf, belly, prey, death, break, six, nod, dim, end, inn, judge and 1286 more...
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EN-HU - important words for a HU inte...
Words only (I left out the expressions) from Geza Kerenyi's EN-HU interpreters' dictionary. Most of them pose some difficulty when interpreted between HU and EN in either or both directions.
abalone, abrasive, abstractionist, abstruse, abysmal, academia, accessibility, accessible, acclimate, accolade, accompanist, achiever and 1469 more...
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cricket
everything cricket
backlift, bail, batsman, batsmen, batswoman, batswomen, beamer, blockhole, bodyline, bosie, bouncer, boundary and 471 more...
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Keepers
I'm fond of many words, but these are definitely keepers.
beekeeper, zookeeper, goalkeeper, netkeeper, innkeeper, housekeeper, storekeeper, gamekeeper, wicketkeeper, lighthouse keeper, gatekeeper, bookkeeper and 64 more...
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New Grims
Grim __________.
Cousins of the Grim Reaper.
Two-syllable words that begin with Re (not necessarily as a prefix) and end with R. Also, two-syllable words that rhyme with r...repair, refer, reader, renter, reeker, reacher, sleeper, keeper, beeper, creeper, reaver, rester and 10 more...
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Is it morning yet?
coterie, lexeme, counterbalance, forthright, pigtail, ponytail, french-braid, barrette, listless, counsel, sitting duck, dead duck and 268 more...
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strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
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harry potter words
quidditch, apparate, disapparate, lumos, snitch, pensieve, dementor, azkaban, wingardium, leviosa, horcrux, bludger and 376 more...
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i don't like cricket, i love it
Words without which cricket could not be.
keeper, stumper, bad light stopped..., wicket keeper, rain stopped play, sight screen, bodyline, leg bye, duck, duckworth-lewis, t20, one-day game and 245 more...
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It Has a Name??
Yes. Yes it does.
aglet, armsaye, scroop, rowel, ferrule, rasceta, chanking, philtrum, frenulum, keeper, agelast, punt and 285 more...
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Monovocalics
Words that have only one of the vowels. On this list I include only words with at least three vowels. When I first started the list, if a word had several forms, I generally listed only the one wit...
syzygy, mirific, cumulus, homolog, monocot, bedewed, jezebel, referee, bikini, minikin, locomotor, terebenthene and 2359 more...
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Harry Potter words
words, spells, charms, curses, artefacts and objects from the Harry Potter books
morsmordre, wingardium leviosa, centaur, alohomora, stupefy, expelliarmus, arithmancy, charm, hex, jinx, goblin, accio and 100 more...
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personas
artist, groaner, donor, figure, moaner, owner, quitter, paper-maker, fascinator, writer, guitarist, songsmith and 22 more...
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Cultural Caca
Sometimes misleading, often peculiar and technical.
slimming, caca, sku, bogo, prenup, complimentary, sweetener, keeper, painterly, semiautobiographical, hack-a-shaq, upside and 35 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for keeper.

reesetee Only if one's brother isn't being an idiot. ;-> Jul 25, 2007
slumry What one is to one's brother? Jul 25, 2007
reesetee The loops on a watch strap or belt that keep the end of the strap or belt in place once it has been fastened. Feb 23, 2007