to keep away
187
1.6
- phrasal verb
:
mantener alejado
- - We will keep them away from you.
- keep away from others
- keep away from children
- keep away (far)
Oh my gosh, keep your fingers away from this.
- Oh my gosh, keep your fingers away from this.
- If you are using the resting B face to keep the men away, cool.
- So parents kept their kids away from her.
- And antibiotics, sterilizing creams, you know, keeping people away from dirt.
- She knew now why they tried to keep her away.
- You know an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
- And so you can kind of craft the tools so that you keep yourself away from the things that fuck you up.
- And that scent will, for most cats, keep them away.
- Wisdom is supposed to be within all human beings and this will help to keep away the vices.
- So when they are like that, when the porcupine has its thing up, you must just keep away a bit.
- Pain is this complex and subjective experience that serves A crucial role for all of us to keep us away from injury or harm.
- So it's costing maybe a billion, a billion a year, a year just to keep people away from illegal products all over the world.
- When I stop deadlifting, my back pain actually increases and deadlifting keeps the bogeyman away.
Examples
-
- I told you to keep her away from me.
-
Keep your hands away from your pocket, okay?
-
Listen, just keep your people away from my family.
-
Number two, keep him away from water.
-
So during the pandemic, we kept kids away from each other in schools, right?
-
Dear God, keep him away from Twitter.
-
Fights like that keep people away.
-
Keep him away from your face!
-
Nothing warns animals to keep away more effectively than the unmistakable smell of a human being.
Academic text (2005) -
During the thunderstorm, we kept away the dog from the open door to prevent him from running outside.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening
590
1.6
Keep a distance from people or things you want to avoid
384
2.3
Avoid going near people or places for safety
172
1.3
To stop people or things from entering a place
159
1.6
Move away and keep a safe distance from something or someone for safety
127
2.4
To stay away from a place, person, or thing
77
5.7
To make yourself less involved with someone or something
77
2.8
Refuse someone entry to a place or group
57
2.6
Avoid walking on places like wet grass or a freshly painted floor
47
2.5
Make a person or animal go away because they are afraid
43
3.2
To stop other people from getting close to you emotionally
41
3.2
To stop people or objects from touching and mixing
38
3.9
Stop something harmful from coming close and causing trouble
34
4.4
To keep harmful or unpleasant things away from you
34
4.0
To stay away from people and things that may cause trouble or harm
34
3.9
Keep unwanted people or things away so they do not harm you
21
4.2
Make someone or something move back and stay away, often by using force
10
6.3
To avoid getting too close to someone or something, often emotionally
Antonyms
How Distant
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to prevent someone or something from coming near' is directly derived from combining 'keep' (to prevent or restrain) with 'away' (at a distance), so the composed sense is predictable from the parts. This verb + particle pattern is common in English and in many other languages, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Keep away gives a simple image: you hold or place something at a distance, with keep meaning to hold and away meaning 'at a distance'. That's why keep away means 'to stop someone or something from coming near'.