keep on
Britishverb
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to continue or persist in (doing something)
keep on running
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(tr) to continue to wear
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(tr) to continue to employ
the firm kept on only ten men
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to persist in talking (about)
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to nag (a person)
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Continue, persist, as in They kept on singing all night . [Late 1500s]
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Maintain an existing situation, as in After Mr. Brown died, the housekeeper wondered if she would be kept on . [Mid-1600s]
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Cause to stay on or remain attached, as in Keep your coat on; it's cold in here . [Late 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.
“I keep on telling my wife that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Intel stock has been on an incredible run and the gains just keep on coming.
From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026
And the numbers show that the U.S. economy is increasingly dependent on this class to keep on spending.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
It is becoming harder for users to tell whether content is real and "people keep on falling for these AI models", she adds.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026
“We think sometime maybe we get frame for these and keep on table, but then maybe I cry more if I see all time.”
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
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.
