keep from
Britishverb
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(foll by a gerund) to prevent or restrain (oneself or another); refrain or cause to refrain
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(tr) to protect or preserve from
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Withhold; also, prevent. For example, What information are you keeping from me? or Please keep your dog from running through our garden . [c. 1340]
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Restrain oneself, hold oneself back, as in I can hardly keep from laughing . [c. 1340]
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.
"Xbox with another hardware price increase? I gotta laugh to keep from crying," wrote one X user, external reacting to Xbox's console price hikes.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
The mix of physical comedy, distant cue cards and having to keep from breaking character as cast members flopped down a set of fake stairs seemed almost too much for the guest host.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2026
Surrounded by grieving women at Al-Mawasi camp in southern Gaza, where Palestinians displaced by fighting and bombardment live in precarious conditions, Nur al-Huda pressed her lips together to keep from crying.
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
As his wife, Jocasta, Ms. Manville was arguably even more devastating, at first trying desperately to keep from her beloved husband what she knows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
“It wouldn’t hurt to gather supplies,” she explained to Mother, to keep from being scolded.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
