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Synonyms

keep from

British  

verb

  1. (foll by a gerund) to prevent or restrain (oneself or another); refrain or cause to refrain

  2. (tr) to protect or preserve from

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
keep from Idioms  

  1. Withhold; also, prevent. For example, What information are you keeping from me? or Please keep your dog from running through our garden . [c. 1340]

  2. 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.

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

My Magic 8 Ball sees little to look forward to except a lot of laughs — because we’ll need to crack up at the cruelty to keep from crying, you know?

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2025

The easiest way to keep from getting locked out of an account is to set up and use a password manager.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

They’ll discuss the lessons we should keep from the systemic failure that resulted in the Great Depression and why the knowledge feels as relevant as ever today.

From Slate • Oct. 30, 2025

My arms are shaking from the work, and I’m sweating like I ran a marathon, but I can’t keep from smiling because I made that.

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.