to keep at bay
38
3.9
- phrasal verb
:
mantener a raya
- It is a mixture of medicines that keeps my suffering at bay.
- help keep at bay
- keep human visitors at bay
And you know, it's keeping the tumors at Bay, shrunk a few of the tumors.
- And you know, it's keeping the tumors at Bay, shrunk a few of the tumors.
- 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.
- You learn the tricks and the tools to keep it at Bay.
- That can biologically keep the stress at Bay.
- And then, you know, the person goes into life and tries to keep it at Bay and lock it up and it just gets more extreme, right.
- Floating row covers is your non spray method of keeping squash bugs at Bay.
- Justinian uses a combination of bribes, fortifications and shrewd diplomacy to keep them at Bay.
- So essentially, yeah, he will avoid all discussions of the future because that's just an easier way to to keep things at Bay.
- It's kind of a way to keep the emotions at Bay, keep her from falling too deeply, if that can even be completely controlled.
Examples
-
A fire burned in the grate to keep the autumn chill at bay.
Fiction book (1993) -
Strategically, however, China needs North Korea to keep other major powers at bay.
Academic text (1995) -
I doubt a human could keep her at bay.
-
That would be enough to keep the bank at bay.
-
An enemy we have kept at bay for centuries has finally decided to strike back.
-
You start the journey in fear and spend every day trying to keep that unknown threat at bay.
-
I can keep him at Bay by throwing kicks.
-
Ideally, a focus on prevention and shaping will keep future conflicts at bay.
Academic text (2012) -
But it shouldn't be entirely up to the individual to keep burnout at bay.
Academic text (2016) -
He installed a fence to keep at bay any potential intruders in the yard.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To keep someone or something safe from harm
388
3.5
To keep something dangerous from spreading or getting worse
187
1.6
Stop someone or something from coming near
172
1.3
To stop people or things from entering a place
146
2.7
To protect someone or something from harm
56
3.3
To protect people or things from harm
43
4.8
To keep someone or something safe from harm
34
4.4
To keep harmful or unpleasant things away from you
34
3.9
Keep unwanted people or things away so they do not harm you
25
5.0
To turn your eyes or face away to avoid something unpleasant
21
4.2
Make someone or something move back and stay away, often by using force
3
3.8
To protect a person or thing from harm
2
9.9
To stop danger or harm from happening
To stop something bad from happening
Antonyms
How Prevented
Surface Forms
Morphology
keep + at + bay
There is a clear compositional clue: 'keep' (to prevent/hold back) plus the locative 'at' suggests maintaining distance or restraint. However, 'bay' in its literal sense (a body of water) does not itself signal 'distance' or 'control' for learners, and the fixed phrase 'at bay' is idiomatic, so the specific sense is not fully predictable without prior exposure. Cross-linguistic equivalents (e.g. Spanish 'mantener a raya') exist, which helps, but overall the expression remains partially opaque.
Etymology
The idiom keep at bay comes from hunting, where dogs would surround a wild animal and 'bay' meant to bark so the animal was held back at a distance. That's why today it means 'to keep something away' or 'to stop it from causing trouble'.