keep from
Britishverb
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(foll by a gerund) to prevent or restrain (oneself or another); refrain or cause to refrain
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(tr) to protect or preserve from
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Withhold; also, prevent. For example, What information are you keeping from me? or Please keep your dog from running through our garden . [c. 1340]
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Restrain oneself, hold oneself back, as in I can hardly keep from laughing . [c. 1340]
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.
"Xbox with another hardware price increase? I gotta laugh to keep from crying," wrote one X user, external reacting to Xbox's console price hikes.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
Participants also are frequently barred from bringing in outside food, to keep from attracting roaches, mice and other pests.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2026
Surrounded by grieving women at Al-Mawasi camp in southern Gaza, where Palestinians displaced by fighting and bombardment live in precarious conditions, Nur al-Huda pressed her lips together to keep from crying.
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
Much of the time I was depressed just trying to keep from drowning in the maelstrom of events and emotions swirling around him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025
I stuff rice and green stuff into my face to keep from saying something that’s just going to get me in trouble.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
