keep company
Idioms-
Also, keep company with . Associate with; also, carry on a courtship. For example, He keeps company with a wild bunch , or Jack and Françoise kept company for two years before they married . [Mid-1500s]
-
keep someone company . Accompany or remain with someone, as in Mary kept Mother company while she shopped , or Do you want me to stay and keep you company? This term was originally put as bear someone company . [c. 1300]
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.
Shortly after, he temporarily paused raids on those businesses in a likely effort to keep company leaders in his corner.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2025
Viewed as serviceable, unglamorous and lacking in distinction, they were not considered elegant enough to keep company with royalty like paintings.
From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2022
What sets him apart, according to those he has worked with, is the "intensity" with which he drives change, and his ability to keep company executives on their toes with thorough research.
From Reuters • Jun. 1, 2022
As a program, EKU has slumped since Kidd’s retirement after the 2002 season, but it aspires to keep company with current powerhouses such as North Dakota State and James Madison, and possibly even more.
From Washington Post • Sep. 15, 2021
“Katherine Nolan, I’m askin’ to keep company with you.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
