keep vs sustain

keep

verb
  • To maintain possession of. 

  • To supply with necessities and financially support (a person). 

  • To refrain from freely disclosing (a secret). 

  • To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain. 

  • To remain edible or otherwise usable. 

  • To remain in a state. 

  • To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; to not swerve from or violate. 

  • To raise; to care for. 

  • To have habitually in stock for sale. 

  • To act as wicket-keeper. 

  • To enter (accounts, records, etc.) in a book. 

  • To maintain the condition of; to preserve in a certain state. 

  • To restrain. 

  • To maintain (an establishment or institution); to conduct; to manage. 

  • To watch over, look after, guard, protect. 

  • To record transactions, accounts, or events in. 

  • To remain faithful to a given promise or word. 

  • To continue. 

noun
  • The state of being kept; hence, the resulting condition; case. 

  • A cap for holding something, such as a journal box, in place. 

  • The food or money required to keep someone alive and healthy; one's support, maintenance. 

  • The main tower of a castle or fortress, located within the castle walls. 

sustain

verb
  • To maintain, or keep in existence. 

  • To provide for or nourish. 

  • To encourage or sanction (something). 

  • To allow, accept, or admit (e.g. an objection or motion) as valid. 

  • To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support. 

  • To confirm, prove, or corroborate; to uphold. 

  • To aid, comfort, or relieve; to vindicate. 

  • To experience or suffer (an injury, etc.). 

noun
  • A mechanism which can be used to hold a note, as the right pedal on a piano. 

How often have the words keep and sustain occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )