keeper

[kee-per]

noun

1. a person who guards or watches, as at a prison or gate.

   Synonyms: jailer, warden

2. a person who assumes responsibility for another's behavior.

   He refused to be his brother's keeper.

   Synonyms: guardian, custodian

3. a person who owns or operates a business (usually used in combination).

   a hotelkeeper.

4. a person who is responsible for the maintenance of something (often used in combination).

   a zookeeper; a groundskeeper.

5. a person charged with responsibility for the preservation and conservation of something valuable, as a curator or game warden.

6. a person who conforms to or abides by a requirement.

   a keeper of his word.

7. a fish that is of sufficient size to be caught and retained without violating the law.

8. Football.,  a play in which the quarterback retains the ball and runs with it, usually after faking a hand-off or pass.

9. something that serves to hold in place, retain, etc., as on a door lock.

10. something that lasts well, as a fruit.

11. guard ring.

12. an iron or steel bar placed across the poles of a permanent horseshoe magnet for preserving the strength of the magnet during storage.

keeper

/ ˈkiːpə /

noun

1. a person in charge of animals, esp in a zoo

2. a person in charge of a museum, collection, or section of a museum

3. a person in charge of other people, such as a warder in a jail

4. See goalkeeper wicketkeeper gamekeeper

5. a person who keeps something

6. a device, such as a clip, for keeping something in place

7. 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

• keeperless adjective
• keepership noun
• underkeeper noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of keeper¹

First recorded in 1250–1300, keeper is from the Middle English word keper. See keep, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Breaking his fall with two hands on the turf, cuffs of his baggy blue keeper's jersey halfway up his forearms and long black curls flowing behind him, Higuita immediately burst into his iconic grin.

From BBC

Former Liverpool player Bruce Grobbelaar is the only other keeper to have won six English top-flight titles.

From BBC

On the other end, Seattle keeper Andrew Thomas made four saves to blank the Galaxy out at home for the second time in 17 days.

From Los Angeles Times

That's an average of 65 matches, more than any keeper has ever played in a calendar year.

From BBC

New Leeds keeper Lucas Perri was given a comfortable introduction as Everton left him virtually unemployed apart from one low shot from Carlos Alcaraz in the closing stages, which he saved comfortably.

From BBC

Related Words

• attendant 
• caretaker 
• curator 
• custodian 
• defender