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.
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
One issue the neighbourhood teams are homing in on is loneliness - they have identified this as a way to keep down hospital numbers.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2025
The scene is bookended by puke and social/professional humiliation, as the extremely Americanized Audrey struggles to keep down Thousand Year Egg shots, nevermind her guilt about being unable to adequately assimilate into Chinese culture.
From Salon • Jul. 5, 2023
He wrapped mine also to keep down the clatter, and soon we were pedaling through the blacked-out streets of Haarlem at a speed that would have scared me even in daylight.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
