K

keel over [for a person] to fall over or fall

down in a faint or in death. Suddenly,

Mr. Franklin keeled over. He had had a

heart attack. It was so hot in the room

that two people just keeled over.

keen about someone or something Go to keen

on someone or something.

keen on doing something willing or eager to

do something. Dave isn’t very keen on

going to the opera. The children are keen

on swimming this afternoon. Shall I take

them?

keen on someone or something and keen

about someone or something to be enthusi-

astic about someone or something. I’m

not too keen on going to Denver. Sally

is fairly keen about getting a new job.

Mary isn’t keen on her new boss.

keep abreast (of something) to keep in-

formed about something; to keep up

(with the times). (Also with be instead

of keep, as in the examples below.) I try

to keep abreast of the financial markets.

I believe that I’m abreast of foreign events.

Yes, I try to keep abreast by reading the

papers every day.

keep a civil tongue (in one’s head) to

speak decently and politely. (Also with

have. See the note at keep a straight face.)

Please, John. Don’t talk like that. Keep

a civil tongue in your head. John seems

unable to keep a civil tongue. He’d be

welcome here if he had a civil tongue in his

head.

keep a close rein on someone or something

Go to keep a tight rein on someone or some-

thing.

keep after someone and keep at someone;

keep on someone; stay after someone to

remind or nag someone over and over to

do something. (See also get after some-

one.) I’ll keep after you until you do it!

Mother stayed after Bill until he did the

dishes. She kept at him until he dried

them and put them away. She kept on

him for forty minutes before he finally

finished.

keep an eye on someone or something Go to

have an eye on someone or something.

keep an eye out (for someone or something)

Go to have an eye out (for someone or some-

thing).

keep a secret to know a secret and not tell

anyone. Please keep our little secret pri-

vate. Do you know how to keep a secret?

keep a stiff upper lip to be calm and un-

moved by unsettling events. (Also with

have. See the note at keep a straight face.)

John always keeps a stiff upper lip.

Now, Billy, don’t cry. Keep a stiff upper lip.

Bill can take it. He has a stiff upper lip.

keep a straight face to make one’s face

stay free from smiles or laughter. (Note:

Keep can be replaced with have. Keep im-

plies the exercise of effort, and have

means that a state exists.) It’s hard to

keep a straight face when someone tells a

funny joke.  I knew it was John who

played the trick. He couldn’t keep a

straight face. John didn’t have a straight

face.

keep a tight rein on someone or something

and keep a close rein on someone or

something to watch and control someone

or something diligently. The office

manager kept a tight rein on the staff.

Mary keeps a close rein on her children.

Keep at it! Keep doing what you are doing!;

Keep trying! (Encouragement to keep

working at something.) The boss told

me to keep at it every time he passed my

desk. Keep at it, Tom! You can do it!

keep at someone or something 1. [with some-

one] Go to keep after someone. 2. [with

something] to continue doing something;

to continue trying to do something.

John kept at his painting until the whole

house was done. Keep at the job if you

want to get it finished.

keep body and soul together to feed,

clothe, and house oneself. I hardly have

enough money to keep body and soul to-

gether. How the old man was able to

keep body and soul together is beyond me.

keep (close) watch (on someone or some-

thing) to monitor someone or something;

to observe someone or something.

Keep close watch on Bill. I think he’s loaf-

ing. Okay. I’ll keep watch, but I think

he’s a good worker.

keep (close) watch (over someone or some-

thing) to guard or care for someone or

something. I’m keeping watch over my

children to make sure they have the things

they need. I think that an angel is keep-

ing close watch over her to make sure noth-

ing bad happens to her.  Angels don’t

have much to do except to keep watch.

keep company (with someone) to spend

much time with someone; to associate

with or consort with someone. (Compare

this with keep someone company.) Bill

has been keeping company with Ann for

three months.  Bob has been keeping

company with a tough-looking bunch of

boys.

keep cool to stay calm and undisturbed.

(Also literal. Informal or slang.) Re-

lax man, keep cool! If Sally could just

keep cool before a race, she could proba-

bly win.

keep from doing something to avoid doing

something; to refrain from doing some-

thing. How could I keep from crying?

It was so sad! Try to keep from falling

Off the ladder

keep good time [for a clock or watch] to

be accurate. (See also keep time.)

have to return my watch to the store be-

cause it doesn’t keep good time.

alarm clock really keeps good time.

keep harping on something to continue to

talk or complain about something; to

keep raising a topic of conversation. (See

also harp on something.) Why do you

keep harping on the same old complaint?

You keep harping on my problems and

ignore your own!

keep house to manage a household. I

hate to keep house. I’d rather live in a tent

than keep house. My grandmother kept

house for nearly sixty years.

keep in touch (with someone) and stay in

touch (with someone) to remain in

friendly communication with someone.

(See also get in touch (with someone).)

I try to keep in touch with my cousins.

All our family tries to stay in touch.

keep late hours to stay up or stay out un-

til very late. (This can cause one to be late

for appointments or responsibilities.)

I’m always tired because I keep late hours.

If I didn’t keep late hours, I wouldn’t

sleep so late in the morning.

keep off (something) to stay off someone’s

land; not to trespass. You had better

keep off my property.  The sign says

“Keep off.”

keep on an even keel to remain cool and

calm. (Originally nautical. See also keep

something on an even keel.) If Jane can

keep on an even keel and not panic, she

will be all right. Try to keep on an even

keel and not get upset so easily.

keep one’s cards close to one’s chest Go

to play one’s cards close to the chest.

keep one’s cards close to one’s vest Go to

play one’s cards close to the chest.

keep one’s chin up to keep one’s spirits

high; to act brave and confident. (Infor-

mal.) Keep your chin up, John. Things

will get better. Just keep your chin up

and tell the judge exactly what happened.

keep one’s ear to the ground Go to have

one’s ear to the ground.

keep one’s eye on the ball 1. to watch or

follow the ball carefully, especially when

one is playing a ball game; to follow the

details of a ball game very carefully.

John, if you can’t keep your eye on the ball,

I’ll have to take you out of the game.

“Keep your eye on the ball!” the coach

roared at the players. 2. to remain alert to

the events occurring around one. (Infor-

mal.) If you want to get along in this of-

fice, you’re going to have to keep your eye

on the ball. Bill would do better in his

classes if he would just keep his eye on the

ball.

keep one’s eyes open (for someone or some-

thing) and keep one’s eyes peeled (for

someone or something) to remain alert and

watchful for someone or something. (The

entries with peeled are informal. Peel

refers to moving the eyelids back.) I’m

keeping my eyes open for a sale on winter

coats. Please keep your eyes peeled for

Mary. She’s due to arrive here any time.

Okay. I’ll keep my eyes open.

keep one’s eyes peeled (for someone or some-

thing) Go to keep one’s eyes open (for some-

one or something).

keep one’s fingers crossed (for someone or

something) and cross one’s fingers to wish

for luck for someone or something, often

by crossing one’s fingers; to hope for a

good outcome for someone or some-

thing. I hope you win the race Saturday.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you.

I’m trying out for a play. Keep your fin-

gers crossed!

keep one’s hands off (someone or something)

to refrain from touching or handling

someone or something. I’m going to

put these cookies here. You keep your hands

off them. Get your hands off my book,

and keep them off.

keep one’s head to remain calm and sen-

sible when in an awkward situation that

might cause a person to panic or go out

of control. She was very angry. We had

to calm her down and encourage her to

keep her head. Always try to keep your

head when others are panicking.

keep one’s head above water to stay ahead

of one’s responsibilities; to remain fi-

nancially solvent. (Also literal.) Now

that I have more space to work in, I can

easily keep my head above water. While

I was out of work, I could hardly keep my

head above water.

keep one’s mouth shut (about someone or

something) to keep quiet about someone or

something; to keep a secret about some-

one or something. (Informal.) They

told me to keep my mouth shut about the

boss or I’d be in big trouble. I think I’ll

keep my mouth shut.

keep one’s nose to the grindstone to keep

busy continuously over a period of time.

(See also put one’s nose to the grind-

stone.) The manager told me to keep my

nose to the grindstone or be fired. Keep

your nose to the grindstone, and you will

prosper.

keep one’s opinions to oneself to stop men-

tioning one’s own opinions, especially

when they disagree with someone else’s.

You ought to keep your opinions to your-

self if you are going to be offensive.

Please keep your rude opinions to yourself!

keep one’s own counsel to keep one’s

thoughts and plans to oneself; not to tell

other people about one’s thoughts and

plans. Jane is very quiet. She tends to

keep her own counsel. I advise you to

keep your own counsel.

keep one’s place to exhibit only the behav-

ior appropriate to one’s position or status

in life. (Also literal.) When I com-

plained about the food, they told me to

keep my place! I suggest you keep your

place until you’re in a position to change

things.

keep one’s temper and hold one’s temper

not to get angry; to hold back an expres-

sion of anger. (The opposite of lose one’s

temper.) She should have learned to

keep her temper when she was a child.

Sally got thrown off the team because she

couldn’t hold her temper.

keep one’s weather eye open to watch for

something (to happen); to be on the alert

(for something); to be on guard. Some

trouble is brewing. Keep your weather eye

open. Try to be more alert. Learn to keep

your weather eye open.

keep one’s wits about one to keep one’s

mind operating in a time of stress. If

Jane hadn’t kept her wits about her dur-

ing the fire, things would have been much

worse. I could hardly keep my wits about

me.

keep on one’s toes to stay alert and watch-

ful. If you want to be a success at this

job, you will have to keep on your toes.

Please keep on your toes and report any-

thing strange that you see.

keep on someone Go to keep after someone.

keep pace (with someone or something) to

move at the same speed as someone or

something; to keep up (with someone or

something). The black horse was having a

hard time keeping pace with the brown

one. Bill can’t keep pace with the geom-

etry class. You’ve just got to keep pace.

keep quiet (about someone or something)

and keep still (about someone or some-

thing) not to reveal something about

someone or something; to keep a secret

about someone or something. Please

keep quiet about the missing money.

Please keep still about Mr. Smith’s illness.

All right. I’ll keep still.

keep someone company to sit or stay with

someone, especially someone who is

lonely. I kept my uncle company for a

few hours.  He was very grateful for

someone to keep him company. He gets

very lonely.

keep someone from doing something to prevent

someone from doing something. I kept

the child from falling in the lake by grab-

bing his collar. I try to keep myself from

overeating, but I seem to fail frequently.

keep someone in line to make certain that

someone behaves properly. (Informal.)

It’s very hard to keep Bill in line. He’s sort

of rowdy. The teacher had to struggle

to keep the class in line.

keep someone in stitches to cause someone

to laugh loud and hard, over and over.

(Informal. Also with have. See the note

at keep a straight face.) The comedian

kept us in stitches for nearly an hour.

The teacher kept the class in stitches, but

the students didn’t learn anything. She

had us in stitches for ten minutes.

keep someone on tenterhooks to keep

someone anxious or in suspense. (Also

with have. See the note at keep a straight

Please tell me now. Don’t keep me

on tenterhooks any longer! Now that we

have her on tenterhooks, shall we let her

worry, or shall we tell her?

keep someone or something hanging in

midair Go to leave someone or something

hanging in midair.

keep someone or something in check and

hold someone or something in check to keep

someone or something under control; to

restrain someone or something. Hang

on to this rope to keep the dog in check.

I was so angry I could hardly hold myself

in check.

keep someone or something in mind and bear

someone or something in mind to remem-

ber and think about someone or some-

thing. When you’re driving a car, you

must bear this in mind at all times: Keep

your eyes on the road.  As you leave

home, keep your family in mind.

keep someone or something quiet Go to keep

someone or something still.

keep someone or something still 1. and keep

someone or something quiet to make some-

one or something silent or less noisy.

Can you please keep the baby quiet?

Keep that stereo still! 2. [with something]

and keep something quiet to keep some-

thing a secret. (See also keep quiet (about

someone or something).) I’m quitting my

job, but my boss doesn’t know yet. Please

keep it quiet. Okay. I’ll keep it still. 3.

and hold someone or something still to re-

strain or control someone or something

so that the person or thing cannot move.

(See also keep still.) Please keep your

foot still. It makes me nervous when you

wiggle it. You have to hold the nail still

if you want to hit it.

keep someone or something up 1. [with some-

one] to prevent someone from going to

bed; to keep someone awake. Their

party kept me up all night. T The noise

kept up the entire household. 2. [with

something] to continue doing something.

I don’t know how long I can keep this

up. T I can’t keep up working this way

much longer

keep someone out in the cold to prevent

someone from being informed. (Also lit-

eral.) Please don’t keep me out in the

cold. Tell me what’s going on. Don’t keep

your supervisor out in the cold. Tell her

what’s going on.

keep someone posted to keep someone in-

formed (of what is happening); to keep

someone up to date. If the price of corn

goes up, I need to know. Please keep me

posted. Keep her posted about the pa-

tient’s status.

keep something down to keep food in one’s

stomach (without vomiting it up). I

don’t know how I managed to keep the pill

down. The food must have been spoiled.

I couldn’t keep it down. Sally is ill. She

can’t keep solid food down.

keep something on an even keel to keep

something in a steady and untroubled

state. (See also keep on an even keel.)

The manager cannot keep the company on

an even keel any longer.  When the

workers are unhappy, it is difficult to keep

the factory on an even keel.

keep something quiet Go to keep someone or

something still.

keep something to oneself to keep something

a secret. (Notice the use of but in the ex-

amples below.) I’m quitting my job, but

please keep that to yourself. Keep it to

yourself, but I’m quitting my job. John

is always gossiping. He can’t keep anything

to himself.

keep something under one’s hat to keep

something a secret; to keep something in

one’s mind (only). (Informal. If the se-

cret stays under your hat, it stays in your

mind. Note the use of but in the exam-

ples below.) Keep this under your hat,

but I’m getting married.  I’m getting

married, but keep it under your hat.

keep something under wraps to keep some-

thing concealed (until some future time).

We kept the plan under wraps until af-

ter the election. The automobile com-

pany kept the new model under wraps un-

til most of the old models had been sold.

I can’t examine your ear if you’re moving,”

said the doctor. 2. Go to keep quiet

(about someone or something).

keep still (about someone or something) Go

to keep quiet (about someone or something).

keep tab(s) (on someone or something) and

keep track (of someone or something) to

monitor someone or something; to fol-

low the activities of someone or some-

thing. I’m supposed to keep track of my

books. Try to keep tabs on everyone who

works for you.  It’s hard to keep tabs

when you have a lot of other work to do.

I can’t keep track of the money I earn.

Maybe someone else is spending it.

keep the ball rolling to cause something

that is in progress to continue. (Also lit-

eral. See also get the ball rolling.) Tom

started the project, and we kept the ball

rolling. Who will keep the ball rolling

now that she is gone?

keep the home fires burning to keep

things going at one’s home or other cen-

tral location. (From a World War I song.)

My uncle kept the home fires burning

when my sister and I went to school. The

manager stays at the office and keeps the

home fires burning while I’m out selling

our products.

keep the lid on something to restrain some-

thing; to keep something quiet. (Also lit-

eral. Informal.) The politician worked

hard to keep the lid on the scandal. The

party was noisy because they weren’t try-

ing to keep the lid on it. It got louder and

louder.

keep the wolf from the door to main-

tain oneself at a minimal level; to keep

from starving, freezing, etc. Idon’t

make a lot of money, just enough to keep

the wolf from the door. We have a small

amount of money saved, hardly enough to

keep the wolf from the door.

keep to oneself to remain solitary; to stay

away from other people. Ann tends to

keep to herself. She doesn’t have many

friends.  I try to keep to myself each

morning so I can get some work done.

keep track (of someone or something) Go to

keep tab(s) (on someone or something).

keep up an act and keep up one’s act to

maintain a false front; to act in a special

way that is different from one’s natural

behavior. Most of the time John kept up

an act. He was really not a friendly person.

He works hard to keep up his act.

keep up appearances to keep oneself

looking calm or happy despite serious

problems. Even with all the trouble

Dave was having at home, he still man-

aged to keep up appearances. She was

trained from childhood to keep up ap-

pearances no matter how bad she really

felt.

keep up one’s act Go to keep up an act.

keep up (with someone or something) to keep

pace (with someone or something); to ad-

vance at the same rate as someone or

something. (See the following two en-

tries.) You’re running so fast that I can-

not keep up with you.  I don’t make

enough money to keep up with your spend-

ing. You don’t even try to keep up.

keep up (with the Joneses) to stay fi-

nancially even with one’s peers; to work

hard to get the same amount of material

goods that one’s friends and neighbors

here. Mr. and Mrs. Brown bought a

new car simply to keep up with the Jone-

ses. Keeping up with the Joneses can take

all your money.

Keep your shirt on! Be patient! (Slang.

Usually considered rude.) Hey, keep

your shirt on! I’ll be with you in a minute.

I’ll bring you your hamburger when it’s

cooked. Just keep your shirt on, friend.

keyed up anxious; tense and expectant.

(Informal.) I don’t know why I’m so

keyed up all the time. I can’t even sleep.

Ann gets keyed up before a test.