keep quiet
idiom
1
: to not say anything or make any noise
He thought about telling the police what he knew, but he decided to keep quiet.
Please keep quiet during the movie.
2
: to not say anything about (something)
She kept her plans quiet.
3
: to prevent (someone or something) from making noise
She gave the dog a bone to keep him quiet.
4
: to prevent (someone) from revealing information about something
They paid money to the witness to keep him quiet.
Examples of keep quiet in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hal orders Kate to keep quiet, and then goes over to Grace Penn.
—
Trish Deitch, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
The next day, Alex begs Mia to put her on TMS to talk about the deep fake, but Mia won’t, because that would be directly disobeying Stella and Celine’s order for Alex to keep quiet.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025
Denise tells Jere to keep quiet, though, because Taylor doesn't know yet about Steven having to move across the country.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
And when Jîna succumbed to her injuries on September 16, the Shargh reporter Niloofar Hamedi defied orders to keep quiet and told the world about her death in a tweet.
—Fatemeh Jamalpour, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for keep quiet
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Trish Deitch, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
The next day, Alex begs Mia to put her on TMS to talk about the deep fake, but Mia won’t, because that would be directly disobeying Stella and Celine’s order for Alex to keep quiet.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025
Denise tells Jere to keep quiet, though, because Taylor doesn't know yet about Steven having to move across the country.
—Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
And when Jîna succumbed to her injuries on September 16, the Shargh reporter Niloofar Hamedi defied orders to keep quiet and told the world about her death in a tweet.
—Fatemeh Jamalpour, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for keep quiet
Cite this Entry
“Keep quiet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keep%20quiet. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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