keeping

1 of 2

noun

keep·​ing ˈkē-piŋ How to pronounce keeping (audio)
Synonyms of keepingnext
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

keeping

2 of 2

present participle of keep entry 1

Synonyms of keeping

Relevance

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of keeping in a Sentence

Noun 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Vanguart’s collaborations are all notably interesting and—in keeping with Adelman’s description—non-mainstream. — Rachel Ingram, Robb Report, 18 Oct. 2026 Escobar and two other union leaders were suspended from their positions last year after Powell raised concerns about board members’ financial record keeping and use of funds. — Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026 In addition, there's a high likelihood that this could become the strongest El Niño event recorded since modern record-keeping began in 1950. — Ahmad Bajjey, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 The Baltimore Sun’s Josh Tolentino joins host Matt Weyrich from Atlanta to break down the game, including Tyler Huntley’s heroics, Mark Andrews’ mistakes and Derrick Henry’s record-keeping. — Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for keeping

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of keeping was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing keeping

Rhymes for keeping

See All Rhymes for keeping

Browse Nearby Words

keep in
keeping
keeping room
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Keeping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keeping. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

keeping

noun
keep·​ing
ˈkē-piŋ
1
: watchful attention : care
2
: a proper or fitting relationship : harmony
in keeping with good taste
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All