keep the peace

1. Maintain public order; prevent strife. For example, President Clinton ordered troops to Bosnia to keep the peace. This expression dates from the 1400s and was originally used more in the first sense, that is, of police keeping public order. It gained extra currency in the second half of the 1900s when military forces were sent to diverse places—Lebanon, Haiti, Bosnia—to stop warring factions.

Example Sentences

At least one officer who was there during the riot said he and others were there to keep the peace and prevent both sides from hurting each other.

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To try to keep the peace in an area that is a religious and national symbol for Israelis and Palestinians, a set of laws and customs, known as the status quo, is supposed to be observed.

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Police Chief Jim McDonnell defended the officers’ response, saying their first responsibility was to keep the peace and that they had no authority to interfere with the federal operation.

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Police were dispatched to keep the peace and mostly were successful, the governor continued.

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Within 36 hours of a peaceful protest on Monday evening, 32 police officers had been injured as the authorities struggled to keep the peace.

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