keep time

Idioms  

1. Maintain the correct tempo and rhythm of music; also, mark the rhythm by foot-tapping, hand movements, or the like. For example, The children love to keep time by clapping their hands . This usage dates from the late 1500s and is occasionally put figuratively, as Ben Jonson did in Cynthia's Revels (1699): “Slow, slow, fresh fount, keep time with my salt tears.”

2. Also, keep good time . Indicate the correct time, as in This inexpensive watch does not keep good time . [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

It doesn’t rhyme, and the kid trying to beatbox in the background can’t keep time to save his life.

From Literature

“Wow, Taylor, you learned how to use YouTube. Now, you just have to learn how to write a decent insult and keep time to music and maybe also how to sing and then you’ve got a real career option lined up.”

From Literature

But so much of “Brazil” is recognizable as features of our world: its malfunctioning robotic technologies —alarm clocks that don’t keep time, automated coffee brewers that soak breakfast toast into mush, elevators that stop between floors, tram doors that close on people trying to exit, etc., etc.

From Los Angeles Times

“As more viewers convert to its ad tier, the challenge will be to keep time spent high in the face of advertising worsening the user experience,” Emarketer senior analyst Ross Benes said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times

“I’d like to be able to keep time as well as your clocks and watches do — and I’m supposed to be a fair drummer,” wrote Gene Krupa, the legendary jazz drummer, in the signature book.

From Los Angeles Times