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.
“They clearly had been keeping this latest charge in their back pocket, waiting to use it before his prior NSL sentence ran out,” Kellogg said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Condimentum, based at the Food Enterprise Park in Easton, near Norwich, had been keeping Colman's Norwich legacy alive by producing the raw material for the brand.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 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
He had been keeping a secret that was not even a secret.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
