keep from
Britishverb
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(foll by a gerund) to prevent or restrain (oneself or another); refrain or cause to refrain
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(tr) to protect or preserve from
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Withhold; also, prevent. For example, What information are you keeping from me? or Please keep your dog from running through our garden . [c. 1340]
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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.
To keep from getting lost, humans must engineer and maintain both frames of reference.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
"Xbox with another hardware price increase? I gotta laugh to keep from crying," wrote one X user, external reacting to Xbox's console price hikes.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
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
Jack bit his lip to keep from yelling out in pain, only there wasn’t any.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
