for keeps
Idioms-
For the winner to retain, as in You can't take the marbles back; we were playing for keeps . [Mid-1800s]
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For an indefinitely long time, forever, as in She is leaving town for keeps .
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In earnest, seriously, as in We're separating for keeps . [Late 1800s]
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.
I’d been friendly with the group before, but now we were bonded for keeps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2025
"Penny Lane is in our ears and in our eyes - and this time it's for keeps."
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2023
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s players are making a strong argument that interim head coach Jim Leonhard deserves to have the job for keeps.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 5, 2022
The last seven regular-season games now essentially serve as an audition as Leonhard tries to show he should have the job for keeps.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2022
She went to a public library and asked the librarian how she could get a Shakespeare and a Bible for keeps.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
