keep down
Britishverb
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to repress; hold in submission
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to restrain or control
he had difficulty keeping his anger down
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to cause not to increase or rise
prices were kept down for six months
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(intr) not to show oneself to one's opponents; lie low
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to cause (food) to stay in the stomach; not vomit
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Hold under control, repress; also, retain food. For example, Keep you voice down , or They vowed to keep down the insurgency , or With morning sickness, she had a hard time keeping down her breakfast . [Late 1500s]
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Prevent from increasing or succeeding, as in The government was determined to keep prices down , or Joyce felt that her lack of an advanced degree kept her down in terms of promotions . [Early 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.
Even though, objectively speaking, that smoothie looks like something I would not be able to keep down, it means something to them.
From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026
How do you keep down the cost of prescription medications?
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
"For businesses, effective competition in general search would help keep down the costs of search advertising, in turn leading to lower prices across the economy," the CMA said.
From Barron's • Oct. 10, 2025
The work there has included arranging bales of straw on the sand, which has enabled native shrubs to take root and begin to keep down the blowing dust.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2025
And when he recognized me, he couldn’t keep down his admiration and wonder.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
