Showing results for "kept"

• past tense form of keep.
• past participle of keep.

kept

American  

[kept] / kɛpt /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of keep.

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adjective

1. having the expression of principles, ideas, etc., controlled, dominated, or determined by one whose money provides support.

   a kept press;

   a kept writer.

kept British  

/ kɛpt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of keep

2. pejorative a woman maintained by a man as his mistress

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Other Word Forms

• unkept
  adjective
• well-kept
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of kept

First recorded in 1670–80 kept for def. 2

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kept

Claire made Jack a promise while he lay in her arms in hospital - and this week she feels like, more than a decade on, she kept that promise.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

The remainder of its guidance was kept unchanged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

In 2008, while the City Council was taking a second look at Special Order 40, Gates pushed back on the idea that it kept police from working with immigration authorities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Those interviewed all said the mother and son kept to themselves and that he rarely went out.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Mutti kept trying to stop him from speaking to the airman, but Karli ignored her.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

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