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
"Somebody once told me," said Rosamund Hunt, "that it's easier to keep one's head when one has lost one's heart."
From Manalive by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton
These verily are the refinements and ecstasies of method—amid which, or certainly under the influence of any exhilarated demonstration of which, one must keep one's head and not lose one's way.
From The Ambassadors by Henry James
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.
