Meanings
- uncountableThe invisible social and emotional labor that women do for men in heterosexual relationships.
Yes, but mankeeping is a real thing: men don’t mankeep; women mankeep.
2025 June 16, “Mankeeping: why single women are giving up dating”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 24 Jul 20252 more examples
As a result, men turn to the women in their lives to fulfill their emotional needs. Ferrara and her coauthor are not the first to suggest that women bear the burden of mankeeping (although they did coin the term).
2024 October 23, Kim Elsesser, “Mankeeping: How Shrinking Male Social Networks May Burden Women”, in Forbes, archived from the original on 16 Jan 2025The Guardian calls mankeeping a modern extension of emotional labor, one that turns a partner into a life coach.
2025 June 20, Ashley Fike, “Mankeeping Is Why Women Are Done With Dating”, in VICE, archived from the original on 08 Sep 2025
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*mon-
- Proto-Germanic*mann-
- Proto-West Germanic*mann
- Old Englishmann
- Middle Englishman
- Englishman
- Englishkeeping
- Englishmankeeping
Cite this entry
mankeeping. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mankeeping
“mankeeping.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mankeeping. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mankeeping,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mankeeping.
Source: mankeeping on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.