keep down

British  

verb

1. to repress; hold in submission

2. to restrain or control

   he had difficulty keeping his anger down

3. to cause not to increase or rise

   prices were kept down for six months

4. (intr) not to show oneself to one's opponents; lie low

5. to cause (food) to stay in the stomach; not vomit

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keep down Idioms  

1. Hold under control, repress; also, retain food. For example, Keep you voice down , or They vowed to keep down the insurgency , or With morning sickness, she had a hard time keeping down her breakfast . [Late 1500s]

2. Prevent from increasing or succeeding, as in The government was determined to keep prices down , or Joyce felt that her lack of an advanced degree kept her down in terms of promotions . [Early 1800s]

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Example Sentences

In 2016 Toblerone courted controversy by changing the design of the chocolate bar to space out the distinctive triangular chunks in a bid to keep down costs.

From BBC

And during litigation, lots of evidence was put in the record that they were doing so for a very bad purpose, which was to keep down the count of Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans.

From Salon

Prof Sampson said while procurement rules meant public bodies had keep down costs, he had seen no evidence ethics had been taken into account when providers were chosen.

From BBC

Airplane and engine manufacturers have been designing more-efficient models, in part to help keep down costs of jet fuel — one of the biggest expenses airlines face.

From Seattle Times

Some days she kept down an orange; other days, nothing.

From Salon

Related Words

• confine
• constrain
• control
• curb
• curtail
• detain
• deter
• govern
• hamper
• hinder
• inhibit
• kill
• limit
• prevent
• repress
• restrict
• subdue
• suppress