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Glite Dictionary
🛑 To block entry 🚫 To stay outside
to keep out

to keep out

172 1.3
To stop people or things from entering a place
  • phrasal verb
  • /kip aʊt/
translation icon : impedir la entrada
  • We put a fence around the garden to keep out rabbits and other animals.
  • keep out the cold
  • keep out of sight
  • help keep out intruders

So, MAGA, keep Taylor's name out of your dirty little mouths, OK?

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Examples

  • There needs to be better screening to keep out emotionally unstable individuals.

    Academic text (1999)

  • And try to keep him out of the water.

  • The best way to handle it was to keep them out of the house until the police came.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • You gotta keep him out of the sunlight.

    Gremlins (1984)

  • Two separate perimeters were established to keep spectators and media out of the immediate crash site.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The security guard is there to keep out any unauthorized personnel.

  • They installed a lock on the door to keep out intruders.

Synonyms

to prevent
vsto keep out
∞ 2.3

Stop something from happening or someone from doing it

is specific to stopping entry into a place rather than stopping events in general
to exclude
vsto keep out
338 3.0

To keep someone or something out so they are not part of something

focuses on membership exclusion rather than preventing physical entry to a place
to keep away
vsto keep out
187 1.6

Stop someone or something from coming near

means stopping approach and does not always stop actual entry into a place
to shut out
vsto keep out
99 3.8

To stop something from entering, being included, or being thought about

focuses only on preventing physical entry to a place
to turn away
vsto keep out
77 2.8

Refuse someone entry to a place or group

applies more broadly and is not only a direct refusal at an entrance
to lock out
vsto keep out
65 3.8

To stop someone from entering a building or using an account

does not imply a particular access method and covers general prevention
to seal off
vsto keep out
47 3.9

Stop people from entering or leaving an area by blocking it

is a formal, controlled action used by authorities rather than simple prevention
to keep at bay
vsto keep out
38 3.9

Stop something harmful from coming close and causing trouble

implies ongoing prevention to avoid trouble rather than a single physical block
to ward off
vsto keep out
34 4.4

To keep harmful or unpleasant things away from you

is about repelling threats to a person rather than stopping entry to a place
to close off
vsto keep out
24 3.9

Stop people or vehicles from entering a place

is more about general prohibition of entry than physical separation
to block out
vsto keep out
14 3.0

To stop light, sound, or air from coming in

applies to inanimate elements like light or sound rather than people entering places

Antonyms

to let in
252 1.0

Allow someone or something to enter a place

How Restricted

to seal off
47 3.9
to keep out
172 1.3
to bar
31 3.3
to restrict
361 3.1
to allow in
172 1.3

Surface Forms

keep out infinitive
keeping out present participle
keeps out third person singular
kept out past
kept out past participle

Morphology

keep + out

The meaning 'to prevent someone from entering' is directly derivable from combining 'keep' (to prevent or restrain) with 'out' (not inside). This verb+particle construction is a common, literal compositional pattern found in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Keep out comes from the image of a gate, fence, or wall that stops things from coming in. When you keep something out you block it so it cannot enter, so the phrase means 'to prevent someone or something from entering'.