"keep on" meaning in English

See keep on in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-keep on.ogg Forms: keeps on [present, singular, third-person], keeping on [participle, present], kept on [participle, past], kept on [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|keep<,,kept> on}} keep on (third-person singular simple present keeps on, present participle keeping on, simple past and past participle kept on)
  1. (transitive, idiomatic) To persist or continue. Tags: idiomatic, transitive Synonyms: continue, go on Translations (persist or continue): يبقي (Arabic), продължавам (prodǎlžavam) (Bulgarian), jatkaa (Finnish), weiter machen (German), weiter +verb (German), continuare (Italian), persistere (Italian), mantenere (Italian), продолжа́ть (prodolžátʹ) (Russian), lean air (Scottish Gaelic), seguir (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-keep_on-en-verb-SdDwVGgl Disambiguation of 'persist or continue': 76 11 7 7
  2. (intransitive, idiomatic) To persist in talking about a subject to the annoyance of the listener. Tags: idiomatic, intransitive
    Sense id: en-keep_on-en-verb-pJWTZtN9 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 7 42 8 43
  3. (transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in an existing position. Tags: idiomatic, transitive
    Sense id: en-keep_on-en-verb-GmgMLCIS
  4. (transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in an existing position.
    (transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in the on or open position.
    Tags: idiomatic, transitive Synonyms: leave on
    Sense id: en-keep_on-en-verb-RqiuEsrZ Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs formed with "on", Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Arabic translations, Terms with Bulgarian translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 7 42 8 43 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs formed with "on": 6 33 10 51 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 7 33 11 48 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 8 38 8 47 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 3 38 5 54 Disambiguation of Terms with Arabic translations: 5 28 14 53 Disambiguation of Terms with Bulgarian translations: 5 30 13 52 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 5 30 13 52 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 6 28 12 54 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 6 28 11 55 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 6 28 11 55 Disambiguation of Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations: 6 30 13 51 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 5 28 9 58
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Translations (remain in position): pitää (Finnish), behalten (German), quedar (Spanish), quedarse (Spanish)
Disambiguation of 'remain in position': 18 14 34 34

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "keeps on",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "keeping on",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kept on",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kept on",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "keep<,,kept> on"
      },
      "expansion": "keep on (third-person singular simple present keeps on, present participle keeping on, simple past and past participle kept on)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Keep on trucking!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Mum, Jimmy keeps on poking me!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:",
          "text": "The young woman kept on down Front Street, Warwick maintaining his distance a few rods behind her.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To persist or continue."
      ],
      "id": "en-keep_on-en-verb-SdDwVGgl",
      "links": [
        [
          "persist",
          "persist"
        ],
        [
          "continue",
          "continue"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To persist or continue."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "continue"
        },
        {
          "word": "go on"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "يبقي"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "prodǎlžavam",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "продължавам"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "jatkaa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "weiter machen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "weiter +verb"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "continuare"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "persistere"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "mantenere"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "prodolžátʹ",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "продолжа́ть"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "lean air"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "76 11 7 7",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "persist or continue",
          "word": "seguir"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "7 42 8 43",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "For goodness sake, will you stop keeping on about it!",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To persist in talking about a subject to the annoyance of the listener."
      ],
      "id": "en-keep_on-en-verb-pJWTZtN9",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To persist in talking about a subject to the annoyance of the listener."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The new boss would like to keep on the present secretary.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Brian Glanville, The Story of the World Cup: The Essential Companion to South Africa 2010, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 361:",
          "text": "The charge against Zagallo then is not so much that he started Ronaldo, but that when it should surely have been clear that the player was in no fit state to take part he kept him on.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause or allow to remain in an existing position."
      ],
      "id": "en-keep_on-en-verb-GmgMLCIS",
      "links": [
        [
          "remain",
          "remain"
        ],
        [
          "existing",
          "existing"
        ],
        [
          "position",
          "position"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in an existing position."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "turn off"
        },
        {
          "word": "shut off"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "7 42 8 43",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 33 10 51",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs formed with \"on\"",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "7 33 11 48",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 38 8 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 38 5 54",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 28 14 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Arabic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 30 13 52",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 30 13 52",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 28 12 54",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 28 11 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 28 11 55",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 30 13 51",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 28 9 58",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Should I turn off this light or keep it on?",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Should I shut off this water or keep it on?",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Coordinate term: turn on"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause or allow to remain in an existing position.",
        "To cause or allow to remain in the on or open position."
      ],
      "id": "en-keep_on-en-verb-RqiuEsrZ",
      "links": [
        [
          "remain",
          "remain"
        ],
        [
          "existing",
          "existing"
        ],
        [
          "position",
          "position"
        ],
        [
          "on",
          "on"
        ],
        [
          "open",
          "open"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in an existing position.",
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in the on or open position."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "leave on"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-keep on.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/52/En-au-keep_on.ogg/En-au-keep_on.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/En-au-keep_on.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "_dis1": "18 14 34 34",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "remain in position",
      "word": "pitää"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "18 14 34 34",
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "remain in position",
      "word": "behalten"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "18 14 34 34",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "remain in position",
      "word": "quedar"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "18 14 34 34",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "remain in position",
      "word": "quedarse"
    }
  ],
  "word": "keep on"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs formed with \"on\"",
    "English raising verbs",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Arabic translations",
    "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "keeps on",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "keeping on",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kept on",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "kept on",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "keep<,,kept> on"
      },
      "expansion": "keep on (third-person singular simple present keeps on, present participle keeping on, simple past and past participle kept on)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Keep on trucking!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Mum, Jimmy keeps on poking me!",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:",
          "text": "The young woman kept on down Front Street, Warwick maintaining his distance a few rods behind her.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To persist or continue."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "persist",
          "persist"
        ],
        [
          "continue",
          "continue"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To persist or continue."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "continue"
        },
        {
          "word": "go on"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "For goodness sake, will you stop keeping on about it!",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To persist in talking about a subject to the annoyance of the listener."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive, idiomatic) To persist in talking about a subject to the annoyance of the listener."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "intransitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The new boss would like to keep on the present secretary.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Brian Glanville, The Story of the World Cup: The Essential Companion to South Africa 2010, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 361:",
          "text": "The charge against Zagallo then is not so much that he started Ronaldo, but that when it should surely have been clear that the player was in no fit state to take part he kept him on.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause or allow to remain in an existing position."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "remain",
          "remain"
        ],
        [
          "existing",
          "existing"
        ],
        [
          "position",
          "position"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in an existing position."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "turn off"
        },
        {
          "word": "shut off"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Should I turn off this light or keep it on?",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Should I shut off this water or keep it on?",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "Coordinate term: turn on"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To cause or allow to remain in an existing position.",
        "To cause or allow to remain in the on or open position."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "remain",
          "remain"
        ],
        [
          "existing",
          "existing"
        ],
        [
          "position",
          "position"
        ],
        [
          "on",
          "on"
        ],
        [
          "open",
          "open"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in an existing position.",
        "(transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in the on or open position."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "leave on"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-keep on.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/52/En-au-keep_on.ogg/En-au-keep_on.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/En-au-keep_on.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "يبقي"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "prodǎlžavam",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "продължавам"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "jatkaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "weiter machen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "weiter +verb"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "continuare"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "persistere"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "mantenere"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "prodolžátʹ",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "продолжа́ть"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "lean air"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "persist or continue",
      "word": "seguir"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "remain in position",
      "word": "pitää"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "remain in position",
      "word": "behalten"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "remain in position",
      "word": "quedar"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "remain in position",
      "word": "quedarse"
    }
  ],
  "word": "keep on"
}

Download raw JSONL data for keep on meaning in English (5.7kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.