at bay
53
5.6
- idiom
:
a raya
- You start the journey in fear and spend every day trying to keep that unknown threat at bay.
- keep at bay
- hold at bay
- keep disease at bay
So I kept the most threatening questions at Bay until after we left staff.
- So I kept the most threatening questions at Bay until after we left staff.
- Yeah, He that does is not holding him at Bay whatsoever.
- Criminals are ruthless and and they need cops to hold them at Bay.
- And then once or twice a week I'd have to use a strong steroidal cream on my face just to keep the redness in the scaling at Bay.
- It it is maybe a balanced place where the level of danger that is always ready to pop off is currently held at Bay.
- And you know, it's keeping the tumors at Bay, shrunk a few of the tumors.
- That can biologically keep the stress at Bay.
- If done correctly, it can be a brilliant tool to keep them at Bay, not let them in too far.
- But the simsia was working so that was keeping the arthritis at Bay.
- Floating row covers is your non spray method of keeping squash bugs at Bay.
- And the only way that you keep them at Bay is to import antioxidants from your diet.
Examples
-
The villagers managed to keep the wild animals at bay by building a strong fence around their homes.
-
I can keep 'em at bay, but not for long.
-
I doubt a human could keep her at bay.
-
An enemy we have kept at bay for centuries has finally decided to strike back.
-
He's keeping the leaders at bay.
-
" I am doing my best to keep chaos at bay now that the social order is disrupted."
Fiction book (1994) -
All we did was toss antibiotics down his throat in order to keep the ear infections at bay.
-
Nigel is useful for keeping the story seekers at bay.
-
The press and onlookers form a small crowd, kept well at bay by police barricades.
Fiction book (1995) -
Andy backs up, holding them at bay, trying to maneuver through the maze.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
1
8.2
Unable to escape because others chased them into a high place
Unable to escape from a dangerous place or situation, for example when surrounded by attackers
In a place where you cannot escape and must face someone
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
at + bay
The phrase 'at bay' cannot be derived from the common meanings of 'at' (preposition) and 'bay' (e.g. a coastal inlet) that a B1 learner would know; its idiomatic sense comes from an archaic hunting sense of 'bay' (to corner or bark at prey). Because the necessary sense of 'bay' is not the salient or frequent meaning for learners, the overall meaning is unpredictable from the parts and thus opaque.
Etymology
At bay comes from hunting. Hunting dogs would 'bay'—bark and keep a hunted animal in one spot so hunters could get near, and that image of an animal forced to stay and defend itself is why at bay now means 'kept in a defensive position' or 'unable to escape'.