keeper

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

keep +‎ -er

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈkiːpə/
• (GenAm) IPA: /ˈkiːpɚ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  Rhymes: -iːpə(r)

Noun

keeper (plural keepers)

1. One who keeps.

   Finders keepers; losers weepers.

2. (slang) A person or thing worth keeping.

   You can throw out all the blurry photos, but the one with her and her daughter is certainly a keeper.

   • 2005, Ladies' Home Journal, Volume 122, Issues 7-12, page 101,

     When he brought me home and volunteered to come with me while I walked my dog, Max, I knew he was a keeper.

   • 2008, Jennifer Zomar, A Candle for the Children, page 28,

     We hadn't dated for long when he said those three magic words: "I'll cook tonight." I knew he was a keeper.

   • 2008, Sherri Erwin, Naughty Or Nice, page 247,

     "Fine," I agreed. “But, Josh, my sister and I can handle it. You sit, watch football with the guys.”

     “I would rather stick close to you. Besides, I love cleaning up.”

     “I knew he was a keeper,” Gran said.

3. A person charged with guarding or caring for, storing, or maintaining something; a custodian, a guard.
4. (sports) The player charged with guarding a goal or wicket. Short form of goalkeeper, wicketkeeper.
   • 2011 June 4, Phil McNulty, “England 2 - 2 Switzerland”, BBC:

     England should have capitalised on their growing momentum to win, but Darren Bent failed to reproduce the finishing touches that have brought him goals in three successive appearances. He was blocked by Diego Benaglio when he was played in by Wilshere then blazed over the top of an open goal late on after Young's shot was saved by Switzerland's keeper.

5. A part of a mechanism that catches or retains another part, for example the part of a door lock that fits in the frame and receives the bolt.
6. (American football) An offensive play in which the quarterback runs toward the goal with the ball after it is snapped.

Derived terms

beekeeper bookkeeper doorkeeper gamekeeper gatekeeper greenskeeper

lighthouse keeper lock-keeper park keeper salad keeper scorekeeper zookeeper

Translations

person who keeps something

Armenian: պահապան (hy) (pahapan) Dutch: bewaarder (nl) m.

French: gardien (fr) m. Spanish: guardián (es) m.

someone or something worth keeping

Dutch: houder (nl)

guard, custodian

Dutch: bewaker (nl) m., conservator (nl) m. Finnish: vartija (fi) French: conservateur m., conservateure f. Japanese: 番人 (bannin)

Latin: ianitor (la) m. Polish: strażnik (pl) Spanish: guardián (es), custodio (es) m. Swedish: väktare (sv) c., vårdare (sv) c.

guardian of goal

Dutch: doelman m./f. Finnish: maalivahti (fi) French: gardien de but m. / gardienne de but f.

Italian: portiere (it) m. Japanese: キーパー (kīpā) Swedish: målvakt (sv) c.

part of mechanism

French: gâche (fr) f., arrêtoir (fr) m.

Swedish: spärr (sv) c.

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

• French: passant m.
• Slovene: varuh m. (1), čuvaj m. (1), vratar m. (2),

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Dutch

Noun

keeper m. (plural keepers, ^??? please provide the diminutive!)

1. (sports) keeper, goalie