to keep it together
3
3.5
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
mantener unido
- Keep it together, Lex.
- just keep it together
Everyone kind of doing their own thing, but managed to keep it together to an extent.
- Everyone kind of doing their own thing, but managed to keep it together to an extent.
- It is a constant effort to keep it together.
- And that band, they, they, they, they, they, they couldn't keep it together.
- So, yeah, she did a good job, though, considering, you know, she really kept it together for the greatest good of the group.
- They can all do incredible stuff, but they don't exist as that band without that institution keeping it together.
Examples
-
The manager emphasized the need to keep it together so that the team could overcome the obstacles effectively.
-
We need you to keep it together because we gotta figure this out.
-
Everyone kind of doing their own thing, but managed to keep it together to an extent.
-
So, yeah, she did a good job, though, considering, you know, she really kept it together for the greatest good of the group.
-
Let's just keep it together.
-
He controls it, and obviously he can keep it together enough so that his life still works.
Fiction book (1994) -
But if you don't keep it together, you're going to cost this team the game, and any possible chance at the championship.
-
When under pressure, it's important for the team to keep it together to ensure success.
-
She reminded everyone to keep it together during the challenging project to meet the deadline.
Synonyms
274
2.7
Join with others to work for the same goal
140
2.1
Remain close and loyal to each other during hard times
133
2.7
Stay together and help each other during hard times
90
3.4
Keep parts or people joined and working as one
50
3.4
Gather people or things and organize them to reach a goal
34
3.1
Join with other people to work together for a common purpose
33
3.4
To join others to support the same cause
2
4.1
To stay united and help each other in hard times
Antonyms
How Cohesive
22
2.7
- Informal
3
3.5
90
3.4
152
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The core meanings 'keep' (maintain) and 'together' (in one piece / united) combine to give a clear sense of maintaining unity or composure, so an average B1 learner who knows the constituents can often infer the general idea. However, the pronoun 'it' is context-dependent and the phrase is used idiomatically to mean emotional self-control or group cohesion rather than a literal togetherness, so the precise interpretation is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Keep it together comes from the picture of holding all the pieces of a group or project so they do not fall apart, like tying parts of a machine so it keeps working. That's why it means 'to keep a team or project working as one'.