keeper

American  

[kee-per] / ˈki pər /

noun

keepers plural

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 British  

/ 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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• keepership
  noun
• underkeeper
  noun
• keeperless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• keepers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of keeper

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

Explanation

A keeper is someone who is responsible for something, especially a property or a lot of animals. A keeper might take care of a big summer house during the winter months. You can use keeper to mean "caretaker," someone whose job involves maintaining a house, farm, estate, or grounds. The keeper of a golf course might, for example, keep the greens tidy and groomed. It's also shorthand for zookeeper, or a person who cares for the animals in a zoo. Since about 1300, keeper has meant "one who has charge of some person or thing." It comes from keep and its Old English root cepan, "seize or hold."

Example Sentences

Dancers strip an old flower seller of her cloak, revealing Catrina, the Keeper of the Dead.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026

Starting May 4, Connection Keeper users can choose to upload their recordings to StoryCorps’ website, where they can also revisit their conversations.

From Salon • Apr. 27, 2026

David Kang, the CEO and co-founder of Keeper Tax, a tax platform for people with more complicated taxes, has also spotted a change.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

Goal Keeper Robert Montoya had 3 saves in the PK shootout!

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2025

While Robin shuffled for a new game, question after question popped into Ivy’s mind, stuff she couldn’t ask Keeper.

From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake

Related Words

• attendant
• caretaker
• curator
• custodian
• defender