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]
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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.
Her “It” girls often keep company with a coterie of tiny monkeys, kittens or creatures with confections for heads.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
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
Many people find that their partners and children are the only souls they’ll keep company with for the next several months.
From New York Times • Jan. 13, 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
“We have time. What makes a good little merch boy leave home to keep company with criminals?”
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
