keeper

[ kee-per ]

noun

1. a person who guards or watches, as at a prison or gate.

   Synonyms: jailer, warden

2. a person who assumes responsibility for another's behavior:

   He refused to be his brother's keeper.

   Synonyms: guardian, custodian

3. a person who owns or operates a business (usually used in combination):

   a hotelkeeper.

4. a person who is responsible for the maintenance of something (often used in combination):

   a zookeeper; a groundskeeper.

5. a person charged with responsibility for the preservation and conservation of something valuable, as a curator or game warden.
6. a person who conforms to or abides by a requirement:

   a keeper of his word.

7. a fish that is of sufficient size to be caught and retained without violating the law.
8. Football. a play in which the quarterback retains the ball and runs with it, usually after faking a hand-off or pass.
9. something that serves to hold in place, retain, etc., as on a door lock.
10. something that lasts well, as a fruit.
11. guard ring.
12. an iron or steel bar placed across the poles of a permanent horseshoe magnet for preserving the strength of the magnet during storage.

keeper

/ ˈkiːpə /

noun

1. a person in charge of animals, esp in a zoo
2. a person in charge of a museum, collection, or section of a museum
3. a person in charge of other people, such as a warder in a jail
4. See goalkeeper wicketkeeper gamekeeper
5. a person who keeps something
6. a device, such as a clip, for keeping something in place
7. a soft iron or steel bar placed across the poles of a permanent magnet to close the magnetic circuit when it is not in use

Derived Forms

• ˈkeeperˌship, noun
• ˈkeeperless, adjective

Other Words From

• keeper·less adjective
• keeper·ship noun
• under·keeper noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of keeper¹

First recorded in 1250–1300, keeper is from the Middle English word keper. See keep, -er ¹

Example Sentences

She starts on plain lined sheets, then she transposes the keepers to “scalloped paper plates.”

From New York Times

It put England on the way to triumph, confirmed late on by a second goal when Jude Bellingham's shot bounced in off Greece keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, then a flash of genius from debutant Curtis Jones.

From BBC

She described moderators as the “keepers of souls”, because of the amount of footage they see containing the final moments of people’s lives.

From BBC

But they waited until lighthouse keeper, Barry Miller, arrived before they opened it.

From BBC

Police are on the hunt for 43 monkeys that escaped from a research facility in South Carolina after a keeper left their pen open.

From BBC

Related Words

• attendant
• caretaker
• curator
• custodian
• defender