Keep, n.
 1. The act or office of keeping; custody; guard; care; heed; charge.
 Pan, thou god of shepherds all,
 Which of our tender lambkins takest keep.   --Spenser.
 2. The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case; as, to be in good keep.
 3. The means or provisions by which one is kept; maintenance; support; as, the keep of a horse.
    Grass equal to the keep of seven cows.   --Carlyle.
    I performed some services to the college in return for my keep.   --T. Hughes.
 4. 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.
 The prison strong,
 Within whose keep the captive knights were laid.   --Dryden.
    The lower chambers of those gloomy keeps.   --Hallam.
    I think . . . the keep, or principal part of a castle, was so called because the lord and his domestic circle kept, abode, or lived there.   --M. A. Lower.
 5. That which is kept in charge; a charge. [Obs.]
 Often he used of his keep
 A sacrifice to bring.   --Spenser.
 6. Mach. A cap for retaining anything, as a journal box, in place.
 To take keep, to take care; to heed. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
 ◄ ►