keepsake
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of keepsake
Explanation
A keepsake is an object that has sentimental value, like a locket that belonged to your grandmother. In one of the Batman movies, Bruce Wayne keeps the pearls his mother wore the day she was murdered. Those pearls are a keepsake: something that has great meaning because of its association with a person. Many parents keep pictures their kids drew as keepsakes. If you loved a job, you might have a keepsake from it. Souvenirs from fun vacations are keepsakes. A keepsake is something we keep for the sake of the people and events we want to always remember.
Vocabulary lists containing keepsake
Crenshaw
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Free Lunch
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Charlotte's Web
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Hurt and in desperate need of her friend, Andie goes to see Iona to ask for her ruffly pink prom dress, a keepsake she promised Andie if ever she wanted it.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026
When the next mission to the International Space Station blasts off from Florida next week, a special keepsake will be hitching a ride: a small stuffed rabbit.
From Barron's • Feb. 8, 2026
She had treasured the pan through the years as “a keepsake of our love.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
"These stamps are more than postage - they are a celebration of Irish culture, a keepsake for fans, and a lasting tribute to 25 years of Westlife," she said.
From BBC • Sep. 11, 2025
I had a single little pearl ornament which Miss Temple gave me as a parting keepsake: I put it on, and then we went downstairs.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
