Keep crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Keep” are SAVE, MIND or RULE, with 4 letters. Below are 66 answers from 3 to 10 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

BAR 3 letters · verb

prevent from entering; keep out “He was barred from membership in the club”

SAVE 4 letters · verb

retain rights to

STORE 5 letters · verb

keep or lay aside for future use “store grain for the winter”

LIVING 6 letters · noun

the financial means whereby one lives

SUPPORT 7 letters · noun

the financial means whereby one lives “he applied to the state for support”

CONTINUE 8 letters · verb

continue a certain state, condition, or activity “We continued to work into the night”

CELEBRATE 9 letters · verb

behave as expected during of holidays or rites “celebrate Christmas”

LIVELIHOOD 10 letters · noun

the financial means whereby one lives “he could no longer earn his own livelihood”

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, SAVE, MIND, RULE, PULL, BUSY and LOCK all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: S → SAVE · M → MIND · R → RULE · P → PULL · B → BUSY · L → LOCK. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, STORE, CARRY, GUARD, CRACK, BLANK and STALL all fit. The second letter settles most of it: T → STORE, STALL · A → CARRY · U → GUARD · R → CRACK · L → BLANK. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 6 squares, LIVING, RETAIN, UPHOLD, DONJON, FOLLOW and SURVEY all fit. The first letter tells them all apart: L → LIVING · R → RETAIN · U → UPHOLD · D → DONJON · F → FOLLOW · S → SURVEY. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “keeping” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “keep” means

• verb: cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity (“The students keep me on my toes”)
• verb: continue a certain state, condition, or activity (“Keep on working!”)
• verb: retain possession of (“Can I keep my old stuffed animals?”)
• verb: stop (someone or something) from doing something or being in a certain state (“Keep the child from eating the marbles”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as KEEP, and words whose definition is KEEP. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.