keep one's head
Idioms-
Stay calm, retain self-control, as in When the rowboat capsized, George yelled that everyone should keep their head and hold onto the boat . This usage dates from the early 1600s and is about two centuries older than the antonym, lose one's head , meaning “to become confused and agitated,” as in Whenever the stock market goes down sharply, people seem to lose their heads and sell .
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keep one's head above water . See head above water .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It's a hard question to ask and keep one's head up in the sisterhood, much less answer.
From Time Magazine Archive
It's unlikely he's wearing a lifejacket and trying to keep one's head above water even in a slight chop can be exhausting.
From Time Magazine Archive
Nor was it a weapon, a style of cooking, or something to keep one’s head dry in foul weather.
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
The creeks were frozen over and there were fascinating slides,—long, slippery places like a sheet of glass,—and the triumph was to slide the whole length and keep one's head well up.
From A Little Girl in Old Philadelphia by Douglas, Amanda Minnie
I will pay a passing tribute to a wonderful constitution, an invincible sense of humour, which I think help one to keep one's head up under many trying conditions.
From The Double Traitor by Oppenheim, E. Phillips (Edward Phillips)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
