keeps

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular present of keep.

   She keeps detailed records of every transaction.

   The old lighthouse keeps watch over the harbor.

   Note

   The -s form carries every use of the verb in the present with he, she or it as subject: she keeps her word, he keeps the shop tidy, the clerk keeps the accounts. Spelling alone will not separate it from the plural noun or from the noun in "for keeps". A subject in front of it marks the verb, while an article or the word "for" before it marks the noun.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of keep.

   Medieval keeps were built to withstand prolonged sieges.

   The fortress had two separate keeps connected by a high wall.

   Note

   This is the plural of a noun with several lives. The most visible is the castle's fortified main tower inside the walls, a word that now belongs to history: medieval keeps, two separate keeps. The same spelling is also the verb form (she keeps), so the grammar decides. A noun takes an article or a number, as in the keeps of a fortress. The mechanical cap that holds a journal box in place pluralizes the same way.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   Found only in the expression 'for keeps,' meaning permanently or for good rather than temporarily.

   They agreed the trade was final and the cards changed hands for keeps.

   After years of moving around, she finally settled in the valley for keeps.

   Note

   Here the final -s does not make a plural. The noun is uncountable, takes no article, and never stands alone outside the phrase. For keeps works like an adverb and usually closes the clause after the verb, as in changed hands for keeps or settled there for keeps, much as for good does. It has nothing to do with the plural of the castle word, despite the identical spelling.

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