keep
verb (used with object)
to hold or retain in one's possession; hold as one's own.
had been keeping
-
past perfect progressiveof keep.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Secretly I had been keeping a lifetime of pain bottled up inside because of fear — I didn’t want to risk losing him by being too emotional or having too many feelings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
Concerns of an oil-supply glut had been keeping oil prices and U.S. inflation in check — at least until investors started factoring in a potential conflict with Iran.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026
The efforts to make it seem like he had been keeping up his frenetic social media posting also backfired, because most of the posts had a whiff of literacy exceeding Trump’s current abilities.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2025
Facebook had been keeping track of other websites I'd visited, including a language-learning tool and hotel listings sites.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2023
“He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements,” said Professor McGonagall darkly.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
