keeper
Americannoun
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a person who guards or watches, as at a prison or gate.
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a person who assumes responsibility for another's behavior.
He refused to be his brother's keeper.
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a person who owns or operates a business (usually used in combination).
a hotelkeeper.
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a person who is responsible for the maintenance of something (often used in combination).
a zookeeper; a groundskeeper.
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a person charged with responsibility for the preservation and conservation of something valuable, as a curator or game warden.
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a person who conforms to or abides by a requirement.
a keeper of his word.
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a fish that is of sufficient size to be caught and retained without violating the law.
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Football. a play in which the quarterback retains the ball and runs with it, usually after faking a hand-off or pass.
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something that serves to hold in place, retain, etc., as on a door lock.
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something that lasts well, as a fruit.
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an iron or steel bar placed across the poles of a permanent horseshoe magnet for preserving the strength of the magnet during storage.
noun
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a person in charge of animals, esp in a zoo
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a person in charge of a museum, collection, or section of a museum
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a person in charge of other people, such as a warder in a jail
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a person who keeps something
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a device, such as a clip, for keeping something in place
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a soft iron or steel bar placed across the poles of a permanent magnet to close the magnetic circuit when it is not in use
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of keeper
First recorded in 1250–1300, keeper is from the Middle English word keper. See keep, -er 1
Explanation
A keeper is someone who is responsible for something, especially a property or a lot of animals. A keeper might take care of a big summer house during the winter months. You can use keeper to mean "caretaker," someone whose job involves maintaining a house, farm, estate, or grounds. The keeper of a golf course might, for example, keep the greens tidy and groomed. It's also shorthand for zookeeper, or a person who cares for the animals in a zoo. Since about 1300, keeper has meant "one who has charge of some person or thing." It comes from keep and its Old English root cepan, "seize or hold."
Vocabulary lists containing keeper
Selection Vocabulary 3, Unit 3
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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.
Hamish Preston, head of U.S. equities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, which is the keeper of the Dow industrials, said this recent relative weakness has led some to call the Dow an “antiquated benchmark.”
From MarketWatch • May 26, 2026
"I believe there is going to be a huge void when Pep Guardiola leaves the football club," said former City keeper Shay Given.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
And this one, when the supermarket gods allow, is a genuine keeper.
From Salon • May 19, 2026
Baseman said the nearly 21-year-old character, named after his childhood crush, is an all-knowing keeper of secrets and represents acceptance.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
Suddenly Rick’s family and the keeper began yelling at him to hurry.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
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.
