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
He said this third coaching farewell is for keeps.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2022
Calista nodded after I named each one, like she was plugging them into her brain for keeps.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
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.
