keep off
Britishverb
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to stay or cause to stay at a distance (from)
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(preposition) not to eat or drink or prevent from eating or drinking
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(preposition) to avoid or cause to avoid (a topic)
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(intr, adverb) not to start
the rain kept off all day
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Ward off, avert, as in She used a bug spray to keep off the mosquitoes . [Mid-1500s]
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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.
Since 2020, those Send debts have been kept off local authority books by a "statutory override" – which had been extended to 2027-28.
From BBC
First-time buyers in Scotland say they are being kept off the property ladder by a system that means they often have to find two separate deposits to secure a home.
From BBC
Garrett was kept off the field for the first three plays on Dec. 24 against New Orleans — the coldest regular-season game in Browns history — after Stefanski punished him for “a team thing.”
From Seattle Times
People were advised to keep off the southeastern sector along the Besuk Kobokan River, which is in the path of the lava flow.
From Seattle Times
She said children with a fever should be kept off school and added Group A Strep was "very, very treatable" with penicillin.
From BBC
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.
