keep at

British  

verb

1. (intr) to persevere with or persist in

2. (tr) to constrain (a person) to continue doing (a task)

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keep at Idioms  

1. Persevere or persist at doing something. For example, If you keep at your math, you'll soon master it . It is also put as keep at it , as in He kept at it all day and finally finished the report . [Early 1800s]

2. keep at someone . Nag, harass, or annoy someone, as in You have to keep at Carl if you want him to do the work , or He keeps at Millie all the time . Also see keep after .

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Example Sentences

Under the old rules, margin account holders who made four or more day-trades within five business days had to keep at least $25,000 in their accounts, effectively shutting out smaller traders.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

“But if you keep at it for a while, you can get a really good product out of it,” Kanekar added.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026

Until then, he says, he will keep at it himself: "This is my ideal. If you have this ideal, you must persist. You can't not."

From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025

Raman said she is exploring whether those dollars could be used to keep at least some of the 14,500 households at risk housed, something other officials said they are looking at as well.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

“Gawd, you boys will be flyin’ all the way up to Washington Dee Cee you keep at it this way,” Tom Tickle roared.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam