keep down

Học thuật
Thân thiện
Definition
  1. Verb (transitive):
    • To manage not to vomit; to retain food or drink in the stomach. This meaning refers to the physical act of preventing oneself from being sick.
    • To suppress, control, or restrain. This meaning refers to holding something back, limiting its growth, expression, or freedom, often by force or authority.
    • To keep at a low level; to prevent from increasing or rising. This meaning refers to maintaining something, such as a number, cost, or volume, at a minimal or controlled level.
Examples of Usage
  • Verb (managing not to vomit):
    • The medicine made her nauseous, but she managed to keep it down.
    • He was so ill he couldn't keep down any food.
  • Verb (suppressing or controlling):
    • The regime used fear to keep down political opposition.
    • It's hard to keep down your anger in such a frustrating situation.
  • Verb (keeping at a low level):
    • We need to keep down costs to stay within budget.
    • Please keep the noise down; the baby is sleeping.
Advanced Usage
  • "To keep one's head down": This related idiom means to avoid drawing attention to oneself, often to stay out of trouble.
    • During the office restructuring, he decided to keep his head down and just do his work.
  • The phrase often implies an external force or conscious effort is applied to achieve the state of being "down" or controlled.
Variants and Related Words
  • Suppress (verb): To put an end to something by force; to prevent from being expressed or known.
  • Restrain (verb): To prevent someone or something from doing something; to keep under control.
  • Subdue (verb): To overcome, quieten, or bring under control.
  • Quell (verb): To put an end to (a rebellion or other disorder), typically by the use of force.
Synonyms
  • Control
  • Restrain
  • Suppress
  • Subdue
  • Quell
  • Swallow (for the "not vomit" meaning)
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Keep from: To prevent or stop someone from doing something.
    • She could hardly keep from laughing.
  • Hold down: Very similar to "keep down" in its meanings of suppressing or maintaining at a low level (e.g., , ).
Related Idioms
  • Keep a lid on something: To keep something under control and prevent it from increasing or spreading.
    • The company is trying to keep a lid on the scandal.
  • Bottle up: To refuse to express strong emotions, which is related to the "suppress" meaning of "keep down."
    • Don't bottle up your feelings; it's not healthy.
Verb
  1. manage not to throw up
  2. put down by force or intimidation
    • The government quashes any attempt of an uprising
    • China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently
    • The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land
  3. place a limit on the number of

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