keep down

keep down

English

Verb

keep down (third-person singular simple present keeps down, present participle keeping down, simple past and past participle kept down)

1. (transitive) To repress.

   China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently.

2. (transitive) To restrain or control (a sound).

   We must keep the noise down, or the neighbours will complain.

   Keep it down in there! Some of us are trying to sleep!

3. (transitive) To cause not to increase or rise.

   It is essential to keep the numbers down to avoid overcrowding.

4. (transitive) Not to vomit.

   It is difficult to keep anything down when you have the flu.

5. (intransitive) To lie low. To stay concealed by not standing up

   You had better keep down or they will see you.

Usage notes

In all transitive senses the object may appear before or after the particle. If the object is a pronoun, then it must be before the particle.

Derived terms

• keep it down
• you can't keep a good man down

Anagrams

• knopweed