Word · Frequency #171
keep
生计；生活费
Money or food needed to support a person; livelihood or maintenance.
- 1.
The food or money required to keep someone alive and healthy; one's support, maintenance.
维持某人生存和健康所需的食物或金钱；生计,供养。
- 2.
The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case.
被保持的状态；由此产生的状况；情况。
- 3.
A cap for holding something, such as a journal box, in place.
固定某物(如轴箱)的盖子。
状态；状况；固定盖；定位盖；维持某人生存和健康所需的食物或金钱；生计,供养。；被保持的状态；由此产生的状况；情况。；固定某物(如轴箱)的盖子。
In use
The castle's keep was the strongest part, with thick stone walls.
From the top of the keep, the lord could survey his entire domain.
The attackers tried to breach the keep but failed.
earn one's keep
keep 作名词时意为“生活费、生计”，earn one's keep 是常用固定搭配，表示靠自己的劳动养活自己。
He earns his keep by helping around the house.
他靠帮忙做家务挣自己的生活费。
pay for one's keep
pay for one's keep 强调“花钱支付食宿等生活费用”，与 earn one's keep（用劳动换取）相对。
She pays for her keep with a part-time job.
她靠兼职来支付自己的生活费。
Common mistakes
He makes his keep by doing odd jobs.
Connections
Collocations
- earn one's keep
- 自食其力；挣得生活费
- He earns his keep by delivering newspapers.他靠送报纸自食其力。
- worth one's keep
- 值得养活；没白养
- A good dog is well worth its keep.一只好狗完全值得养。
- pay for one's keep
- 支付食宿费；缴纳生活费
- She pays for her keep by helping with chores.她靠帮忙做家务来抵食宿费。
Idioms & figurative uses
- keep in mind
- 记住；牢记Please keep in mind that the meeting starts at 9 a.m.请记住，会议上午九点开始。
- keep an eye on
- 照看；留神Could you keep an eye on my bags while I buy a ticket?我去买票时，你能帮我照看一下行李吗？
Learner notes
Memory Tip
把动词 keep（保持）联想为名词：保持生活所需=生计；保持的状态=状态；保持零件就位的小盖=定位盖。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：everyday conversation、literary or old-fashioned writing、technical/engineering manuals 名词 keep 的语域因具体义项而不同：表示“生计、生活/食宿费用”时多用于日常或书面语，常见于 earn one's keep；表示“状态、状况”比较常见于较旧或文学性文本；表示“定位盖、固定盖”则多用于技术/机械说明。总体差异较大，建议按搭配判断。
Pronunciation & Spelling
Genuine rhymes: sheep, sleep, deep, cheap — all end with the /i:p/ sound (note that cheap is spelled with “ea”). Lookalikes to watch out for: keen /ki:n/ and key /ki:/ start like “keep” but do not rhyme with it because the final sound differs.
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 5，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.