keep back

verb

1. (tr) to refuse to reveal or disclose

2. to prevent, be prevented, or refrain from advancing, entering, etc

Idioms and Phrases

see hold back.

Example Sentences

Crowds of civilians were kept back by armed Hamas fighters as she appeared on a platform and was given a certificate, before being passed to the Red Cross.

From BBC

There have been chaotic scenes at the opening of the annual agricultural show in Paris as farmers broke through security barriers and had to be kept back by riot police.

From BBC

While the bison do help keep back some of the invasive grasses, Dennhardt explains that they create wallows and cause erosion.

From National Geographic

Oxfam said it understood workers' frustrations, but that its reserves had fallen, and it needed to keep back funds to weather financial shocks.

From BBC

Capitol police said its officers were “working to keep back approximately 150 people who are illegally and violently protesting in the area of Canal Street and Ivy Street” in southeast Washington.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• adjourn 
• bar 
• block 
• defer 
• detain 
• hamper 
• hold 
• impede 
• keep 
• obstruct 
• postpone 
• prevent 
• prolong 
• put off 
• restrict 
• shelve 
• stall 
• stay 
• suspend 
• withhold