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Glite Dictionary
to zip someone's lip

to zip someone's lip

8.4
To keep quiet and not tell others about something
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : cerrar la boca
  • If you want to avoid gossip, you should zip your lip and not share details with anyone.

Examples

  • Just sit down and zip your lip.

    Grand Theft Auto (1977)

  • It's best to zip your lip about the surprise party until it's time to celebrate.

  • When the meeting started, he was told to zip his lip so the speaker could present without interruptions.

Synonyms

to keep one's mouth shut
vsto zip someone's lip
  • Informal
116 5.6

To say nothing to avoid trouble or keep a secret

is an idiomatic phrase used for deliberate secrecy
to keep quiet
vsto zip someone's lip
90 2.5

To say nothing or not tell a secret

is more idiomatic and often stresses deliberate refusal to speak
to swallow
vsto zip someone's lip
  • Informal
5 7.0

To take back words you said

focuses more on deliberate silence to avoid revealing information
to shut one's mouth
vsto zip someone's lip
  • Informal
4 4.4

To stop talking to keep a secret or when told to be quiet

is about deliberate silence to avoid revealing information
to hold one's tongue
vsto zip someone's lip
  • Informal
3 5.4

To stay silent to avoid saying something rude

is about deliberate silence specifically to prevent revealing information
to keep mum
vsto zip someone's lip
  • Informal
3 7.5

Stay quiet about something private

is the informal phrase for deliberate silence to avoid disclosure
to button one's lip
vsto zip someone's lip
  • Informal
7.2

To keep quiet on purpose and not tell others

is an informal idiom meaning deliberate silence to protect information
to bite one's lip
vsto zip someone's lip
  • Informal
6.1

Pressing your lips together to keep from laughing or saying something

is used for silence chosen to avoid revealing information, not emotion control
to keep one's cakehole shut
vsto zip someone's lip
  • Offensive
9.9

Not say anything or tell other people

is a colloquial way to request deliberate secrecy or silence
to belt up
vsto zip someone's lip
  • Offensive
9.2

To tell someone to stop talking and be quiet

is an informal blunt order to keep silent and not reveal information

Antonyms

to reveal
∞ 2.3

Show something that was hidden or secret

to speak up
43 2.0

Talk more loudly so people can hear you

How Quiet

to silence
169 3.5
to zip someone's lip
  • Informal
8.4
to be quiet
231 1.0
to hold back
108 4.2

Surface Forms

zip someone's lip infinitive
zipped someone's lip past
zipped someone's lip past participle
zipping someone's lip present participle
zips someone's lip third person singular

Morphology

zip + someone's + lip

The phrase evokes the familiar image of 'zipping' (sealing) plus 'lip' (mouth), so a learner who knows the constituents can readily infer the meaning 'keep quiet' by analogy to closing something with a zipper. This is a common, motivated metaphor found in many languages and therefore immediately comprehensible to B1 learners who know the words.

Etymology

The idiom zip someone's lip may come from the image of a jacket zipper closing over a mouth. If you zip the lip, nothing comes out, so it means 'to keep quiet' and not say something.