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A Writer's Dictionary:

keep down Definition


Dictionary Home » Words Starting with K » kebabbing ... keep someone on » keep down


keep1
verb kept, keeping
    1. To have; to possess.
    2. To continue to have something; not to part with it; to save.
      Thesaurus: accumulate, amass, preserve, retain, grasp, hold, collect, conserve, maintain, heap, hold on to, pile, stock, store.
    3. To maintain or retain.
      Example: keep one's temper
    4. To store.
    tr & intr
    5. To remain or cause something to remain in a certain state, position, place, etc.
    intr
    6. To continue or be frequently doing something.
      Example: keep smiling
      Example: kept fainting
    7. Said of a shopkeeper, etc: to have something regularly in stock.
    8. To own and look after (an animal, etc).
      Example: keep hens
    9. To own or run (a shop, boarding-house, etc).
    10. To look after something.
      Example: keep house
      Example: keep this for me
      Thesaurus: care for, minister to, attend, run, direct, look after, manage, operate, safeguard, shelter, support, sustain, tend.
    intr
    11. Said of food: to remain fit to be eaten.
      Example: This cake keeps well
    12. To maintain (a record, diary, accounts, etc).
    13. To obey (the law, etc).
    14. To preserve (a secret).
    15. To stick to (a promise or appointment).
    16. To celebrate (a festival, etc) in the traditional way; to follow (a custom).
    17. To support someone financially.
    18. To employ.
      Example: We keep a gardener
    19. To protect.
      Example: keep them from harm
    20. football.
      To guard (the goal).
    21. cricket.
      To guard the wicket.
      Form: keep wicket (usually)
    22. To remain firm on something.
      Example: managed to keep his feet despite the strong wind
noun
    1. The cost of one's food and other daily expenses.
      Example: earn one's keep
    2. The central tower or stronghold in a Norman castle.
Idiom: for keeps
    colloq
    Permanently; for good.
Idiom: How are you keeping?
    How are you?
Idiom: keep going
    To persevere in spite of problems.
Idiom: keep someone going
    To help them survive difficulties, etc.
Idiom: keep to oneself
    To avoid the company of others.
Idiom: keep something to oneself
    Not to reveal it to others.
Idiom: keep up with the Joneses
    colloq
    To compete with neighbours in a display of material prosperity. See also keep up with someone below.
Etymology: Anglo-Saxon cepan to guard, observe or watch.

Phrasal Verb: keep at something
    To persevere at or persist in it.
Phrasal Verb: keep something back
    To conceal information, etc.To suppress (laughter, tears, etc).
Phrasal Verb: keep down
    To keep low; to hide.
Phrasal Verb: keep someone down
    To oppress them; to prevent their development or progress, etc.
Phrasal Verb: keep something down
    To control or limit (prices, development, etc).To oppress or restrain it.To manage not to vomit (food, etc).
Phrasal Verb: keep from something
    To hold back from doing it or delay doing it.
      Example: couldn't keep from laughing
Phrasal Verb: keep someone from something
    To prevent them from doing it.
Phrasal Verb: keep something from someone
    To prevent (information) from reaching them.
Phrasal Verb: keep someone in
    To confine them; to prevent them from escaping.
      Example: was kept in after school and given one hundred lines
Phrasal Verb: keep something in
    To confine it; to hold it back.To conceal it.
Phrasal Verb: keep in with someone
    To remain on good terms with them, especially for selfish reasons.
Phrasal Verb: keep off something
    To avoid (a harmful food, awkward topic, etc).To stay away from it
      Example: Keep off my books!
Phrasal Verb: keep someone off something
    To prevent them from approaching or attacking it.
Phrasal Verb: keep on doing something
    To persist in it.
Phrasal Verb: keep someone on
    To continue to employ them.
Phrasal Verb: keep something on
    To continue renting or using it.
      Example: We had a flat in town but decided not to keep it on
    To continue to wear (a piece of clothing).
      Example: Keep your gloves on
Phrasal Verb: keep on about something or someone
    To talk continually and repetitively about it or them.
Phrasal Verb: keep on at someone
    To nag or harass them.
Phrasal Verb: keep to something
    Not to leave it.
      Example: Keep to the path
Phrasal Verb: keep someone to something
    To make them adhere to (a promise, decision, etc).
      Example: I'll keep you to that
Phrasal Verb: keep someone under
    To subdue, repress or crush them.
Phrasal Verb: keep something up
    To prevent (eg spirits, morale, etc) from falling.To maintain (a habit, friendship, pace, etc).To go on making (payments, etc).To maintain (a house, garden, etc) in good condition.
Phrasal Verb: keep up with someone
    Not to be left behind by them.To maintain the pace or standard set by them.


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