Retain vs. Keep

Retainverb

(transitive) To keep in possession or use.

Retainverb

(transitive) To keep in one's pay or service.

Retainverb

(transitive) To employ by paying a retainer.

Retainverb

(transitive) To hold secure.

Retainverb

(obsolete) To restrain; to prevent.

Retainverb

(obsolete) To belong; to pertain.

Retainverb

To continue to hold; to keep in possession; not to lose, part with, or dismiss; to restrain from departure, escape, or the like.

Retainverb

To keep in pay; to employ by a preliminary fee paid; to hire; to engage; as, to retain a counselor.

Retainverb

To restrain; to prevent.

Retainverb

To belong; to pertain.

Retainverb

To keep; to continue; to remain.

Retainverb

hold within;

Retainverb

allow to remain in a place or position;

Retainverb

secure and keep for possible future use or application;

Retainverb

keep in one's mind;

Keepverb

To continue in (a course or mode of action); not to intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain.

Keepverb

To hold the status of something.

Keepverb

To maintain possession of.

Keepverb

To maintain the condition of.

Keepverb

(transitive) To record transactions, accounts, or events in.

Keepverb

(transitive) To enter (accounts, records, etc.) in a book.

Keepverb

(archaic) To remain in, to be confined to.

Keepverb

To restrain.

Keepverb

(with from) To watch over, look after, guard, protect.

Keepverb

To supply with necessities and financially support a person.

Keepverb

(of living things) To raise; to care for.

Keepverb

To maintain (an establishment or institution); to conduct; to manage.

Keepverb

To have habitually in stock for sale.

Keepverb

To hold or be held in a state.

Keepverb

(obsolete) To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.

Keepverb

To continue.

Keepverb

To remain edible or otherwise usable.

Keepverb

(copulative) To remain in a state.

Keepverb

(obsolete) To wait for, keep watch for.

Keepverb

To act as wicket-keeper.

Keepverb

To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.

Keepverb

To be in session; to take place.

Keepverb

(transitive) To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from or violate.

Keepverb

To confine oneself to; not to quit; to remain in.

Keepverb

To visit (a place) often; to frequent.

Keepnoun

(obsolete) Care, notice

Keepnoun

(historical) The main tower of a castle or fortress, located within the castle walls.

Keepnoun

The food or money required to keep someone alive and healthy; one's support, maintenance.

Keepnoun

The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge.

Keepnoun

The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case.

Keepnoun

(obsolete) That which is kept in charge; a charge.

Keepnoun

(engineering) A cap for holding something, such as a journal box, in place.

Keepverb

To care; to desire.

Keepverb

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.

Keepverb

To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or tenor.

Keepverb

To have in custody; to have in some place for preservation; to take charge of.

Keepverb

To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.

Keepverb

To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.

Keepverb

To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.

Keepverb

To record transactions, accounts, or events in; as, to keep books, a journal, etc.; also, to enter (as accounts, records, etc. ) in a book.

Keepverb

To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.

Keepverb

To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to keep boarders.

Keepverb

To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.

Keepverb

To have habitually in stock for sale.

Keepverb

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.

Keepverb

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.

Keepverb

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.

Keepverb

To observe duly, as a festival, etc.; to celebrate; to solemnize; as, to keep a feast.

Keepverb

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.

Keepverb

To last; to endure; to remain unimpaired.

Keepverb

To reside for a time; to lodge; to dwell.

Keepverb

To take care; to be solicitous; to watch.

Keepverb

To be in session; as, school keeps to-day.

Keepnoun

The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge.

Keepnoun

The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case; as, to be in good keep.

Keepnoun

The means or provisions by which one is kept; maintenance; support; as, the keep of a horse.

Keepnoun

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 dungeon. See Illust. of Castle.

Keepnoun

That which is kept in charge; a charge.

Keepnoun

A cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in place.

Keepnoun

the financial means whereby one lives;

Keepnoun

the main tower within the walls of a medieval castle or fortress

Keepnoun

a cell in a jail or prison

Keepverb

keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g.,

Keepverb

continue a certain state, condition, or activity;

Keepverb

retain possession of;

Keepverb

prevent from doing something or being in a certain state;

Keepverb

conform one's action or practice to;

Keepverb

observe correctly or closely;

Keepverb

look after; be the keeper of; have charge of;

Keepverb

maintain by writing regular records;

Keepverb

supply with room and board;

Keepverb

allow to remain in a place or position;

Keepverb

supply with necessities and support;

Keepverb

fail to spoil or rot;

Keepverb

celebrate, as of holidays or rites;

Keepverb

keep under control; keep in check;

Keepverb

maintain in safety from injury, harm, or danger;

Keepverb

raise;

Keepverb

retain rights to;

Keepverb

store or keep customarily;

Keepverb

have as a supply;

Keepverb

maintain for use and service;

Keepverb

hold and prevent from leaving;

Keepverb

prevent (food) from rotting;

Keep

A keep (from the Middle English kype) is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the castle fall to an adversary.