to keep down
39
3.6
- phrasal verb
- /kip daʊn/
:
contener
- Have the Building Committee order a new one, and keep the cost down.
- to keep down costs
- to keep down prices
- to keep down expenses
Before you sleep, keep it down and go to bed.
- Before you sleep, keep it down and go to bed.
- A big focus on keeping costs down, less wiring in the hands.
- You know, I mean, there's a lot that keep the poor down.
- So peak summer, little bit harder to keep that cost down.
- And what's the best way for film makers to keep their budgets down, Save money.
- Get big birds try to keep us down.
- They hold your arm up high, you know, to keep the swelling down.
- But I always tell my clients upfront to keep the cost down.
- And we wanted to keep it as simple as possible while keeping costs down South.
- It's a way for them to overpower, destabilize you, and keep you down.
Examples
-
Therefore, some district-level decision makers believe that the only way to keep costs down is to keep teacher salaries low.
Academic text (2004) -
To this extent, the Clean Air Act has likely helped keep electricity rates down.
Academic text (1998) -
We're always under pressure from local authorities to keep our, our costs down to the minimum.
-
The companies will use the excuse that they are keeping prices down.
Academic text (1999) -
We have in place cuts coming in future years that will keep that budget deficit down.
Academic text (1995) -
The cost is being kept down to only $35.00 for the entire day.
Academic text (2001) -
The purpose was to try to keep down the number of pickups.
Academic text (1995) -
That's why I ask for your help, Bibi, to keep the casualties down.
Fiction book (1994) -
"Using beneficial microbes, rather than pesticides, keeps production costs down while also protecting the environment," Hanson says.
Academic text (2005) -
To maintain our budget, we need to keep down our spending on unnecessary items.
Synonyms
187
3.2
Stop someone or something from moving forward
162
2.1
To make something weaker or in a worse state
89
3.0
Make an amount or level lower
37
5.5
To bring a person or thing under control, often by force
22
3.2
To keep something low and stop it from getting bigger
19
6.7
Use force to stop protests or opposition
8
8.1
Forcefully stop something like a protest or rumor
4
5.1
To keep prices or spending at the same level
Antonyms
How Restricted
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'keep' (to prevent/restrain) combined with 'down' (direction/consignment) can plausibly be interpreted as preventing something from coming up, so a learner could infer the sense ‘prevent vomiting’. However, the medical/specific sense 'not throw up' relies on a metaphorical mapping (keeping stomach contents down) and is not fully predictable from the literal definitions provided, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The verb keep down comes from the picture of holding something so it cannot rise, like pressing a lid or pushing people to the ground to keep them down. That's why it means 'to stop something from getting bigger or stronger'.