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Synonyms

put the lid on

Idioms  

  1. Also, keep the lid on. Suppress, as in I don't know how but we'll have to put the lid on that rumor about her, or Let's keep the lid on our suspicions. The word lid here is used in the sense of “a cover for a container.” [Early 1900s]

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.

Solid inflation data in addition to better jobs data could potentially put the lid on prospects of another interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve this quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Put the oil and kernels into a large saucepan, and immediately put the lid on.

From Salon • Oct. 15, 2023

Then sprinkle the rest on top of the potatoes in the pot, put the lid on and let it hang out for a few minutes to melt.

From Washington Post • Nov. 15, 2021

I have to know when to put the lid on, when to stop working.

From Nature • May 13, 2020

We put the lid on the paint, dumped our brushes into a jar of paint thinner Doc had set out, then marched up to the porch.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

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.