keep off
Britishverb
-
to stay or cause to stay at a distance (from)
-
(preposition) not to eat or drink or prevent from eating or drinking
-
(preposition) to avoid or cause to avoid (a topic)
-
(intr, adverb) not to start
the rain kept off all day
-
Ward off, avert, as in She used a bug spray to keep off the mosquitoes . [Mid-1500s]
-
Stay away from, not touch or trespass on; also, prevent from touching or trespassing. For example, They put up a sign asking the public to keep off their property , or Please keep your feet off the sofa . [Late 1500s] Also see hands off .
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.
In the meantime, autonomous weapons have only gotten cheaper and more sophisticated, making them even more attractive to states and harder to keep off the battlefield.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Dennis' first ever story, in black and white, involved him getting into trouble for failing to heed a warning to keep off the grass.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
In mid-December, however, Lilly produced new data showing that it worked well at helping patients keep off weight they had previously lost on Lilly’s injectable Zepbound and Novo’s injectable Wegovy.
From Barron's ● Dec. 28, 2025
The findings indicate that people may need to remain on tirzepatide to keep off the pounds.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 11, 2023
Men, women, and children wearing straw hats to keep off the sun straighten up, turn our way, take a moment to stretch their backs as they watch our train go by.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
