kept

[ kept ]

See synonyms for kept on Thesaurus.com

verb

simple past tense and past participle of keep.

adjective

having the expression of principles, ideas, etc., controlled, dominated, or determined by one whose money provides support: a kept press; a kept writer.

Origin of kept

1670–80 for def. 2

Other words from kept

un·kept, adjective
well-kept, adjective

Words Nearby kept

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kept in a sentence

Have you tried to access the research that your tax dollars finance, almost all of which is kept behind a paywall?
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers | Michael Schulson | July 27, 2016 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the 70s, this myth kept openly gay people out of teaching positions.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic | Samantha Allen | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the 90s, it kept gay men out of leadership roles in the Boy Scouts of America.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic | Samantha Allen | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
A guard is manning the door, which is always kept ajar so she can be monitored.
Should Teens Have The Right To Die? | Brandy Zadrozny | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
I got to work on all of it—and Epstein kept close tabs on me.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 | Vicky Ward | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST

And that was that if he and his wife were to ever live together again and be happy, the family were to be kept out of it.
The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux
The Princess still kept her eyes fixed on Louis, while, in a suppressed and unsteady voice, she answered her governess.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter
Edna Pontellier, casting her eyes about, had finally kept them at rest upon the sea.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate Chopin
She kept her eyes fixed steadily on his, saying what followed gently, calmly, yet as though another woman spoke the words.
The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
The major-general kept him well informed of every movement of the enemy, and pointed out the dangerous isolation of Davout.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for kept

kept

/ (kɛpt) /

verb

the past tense and past participle of keep
kept woman censorious a woman maintained by a man as his mistress

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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