keep on
Britishverb
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to continue or persist in (doing something)
keep on running
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(tr) to continue to wear
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(tr) to continue to employ
the firm kept on only ten men
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to persist in talking (about)
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to nag (a person)
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Continue, persist, as in They kept on singing all night . [Late 1500s]
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Maintain an existing situation, as in After Mr. Brown died, the housekeeper wondered if she would be kept on . [Mid-1600s]
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Cause to stay on or remain attached, as in Keep your coat on; it's cold in here . [Late 1800s]
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.
And the numbers show that the U.S. economy is increasingly dependent on this class to keep on spending.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
It is becoming harder for users to tell whether content is real and "people keep on falling for these AI models", she adds.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026
“And the lessons, they keep on coming. It’s the craziest, craziest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s the thing that’s made me happiest.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
And other people who thought the market was going to keep on going down, they were going to make money by being short.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026
“Everyone goes a different way. Keep a steady but mindful pace, the same speed we keep on the trail when we move camp. An hour’s walk, no more, then you find a lookout and wait.”
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
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.
