keeper
Americannoun
-
keepers
plural
-
a person who guards or watches, as at a prison or gate.
-
a person who assumes responsibility for another's behavior.
He refused to be his brother's keeper.
-
a person who owns or operates a business (usually used in combination).
a hotelkeeper.
-
a person who is responsible for the maintenance of something (often used in combination).
a zookeeper; a groundskeeper.
-
a person charged with responsibility for the preservation and conservation of something valuable, as a curator or game warden.
-
a person who conforms to or abides by a requirement.
a keeper of his word.
-
a fish that is of sufficient size to be caught and retained without violating the law.
-
Football. a play in which the quarterback retains the ball and runs with it, usually after faking a hand-off or pass.
-
something that serves to hold in place, retain, etc., as on a door lock.
-
something that lasts well, as a fruit.
-
an iron or steel bar placed across the poles of a permanent horseshoe magnet for preserving the strength of the magnet during storage.
noun
-
a person in charge of animals, esp in a zoo
-
a person in charge of a museum, collection, or section of a museum
-
a person in charge of other people, such as a warder in a jail
-
a person who keeps something
-
a device, such as a clip, for keeping something in place
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 3
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
See Examples For:
As a longtime keeper of the flame for cinema, what does this moment feel like to you?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Rizwan's miss was the most costly, symptomatic of the keeper and slip fielders appearing to stand too deep for most of the day with a number of edges not carrying through.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The jury keeper, the lead detective, and the prosecution all say there was no contact.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
And as a deterrent to goalkeepers who take a long time over goal-kicks towards the end of games, he can now give the opposition a corner instead if the keeper takes too long.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Until Miss Maggie said, “I hear there’s going to be a bird sanctuary on Penikese soon. They’ve hired a bird keeper to live over there.”
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
But finding the jury, and the jury keepers watching them, somewhere to sleep became something of a logistical nightmare.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
The troop was in the midst of its breeding season and keepers said tensions could sometimes run high.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Subasic, Livakovic and Portugal's Ricardo are the only keepers to save three in one shootout.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Several decades ago, keepers were supposed to stand there and not move until the ball was heading toward them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Five of Charlie’s fellow keepers staggered up to the Horntail at that moment, carrying a clutch of huge granite-gray eggs between them in a blanket.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
