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.

   Keep on trucking!

   Mum, Jimmy keeps on poking me!

   Synonyms: continue, go on

   • 1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC ↗:

     The young woman kept on down Front Street, Warwick maintaining his distance a few rods behind her.

2. (intransitive, idiomatic) To persist in talking about a subject to the annoyance of the listener.

   For goodness sake, will you stop keeping on about it!

3. (transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in an existing position.

   The new boss would like to keep on the present secretary.

   1. (transitive, idiomatic) To cause or allow to remain in the on or open position.

      Should I turn off this light or keep it on?

      Should I shut off this water or keep it on?

      Synonyms: leave on

      Antonyms: turn off, shut off

      Coordinate term: turn on

• German: weiter machen, weiter
• Italian: continuare, persistere, mantenere
• Russian: продолжа́ть
• Spanish: seguir

• German: behalten
• Spanish: quedar, quedarse