keep a lid on

idiom

1

: to keep (something secret) from being known

She tried to keep a lid on the news.

2

: to control (something) : to keep (something) from becoming worse

The government has been unable to keep a lid on inflation.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

This is meant to keep a lid on the showdown by deterring China by keeping open the possibility of a US military response. —Jessie Yeung, Nectar Gan And Steven Jiang, CNN, 24 May 2022

That means that cities across the country will continue to face restrictions as authorities struggle to keep a lid on increasingly transmissible variants. —Amy Gunia, Time, 22 Apr. 2022

Israel is rushing to prop up the Palestinian Authority, promising loans, allowing infrastructure upgrades and holding talks with West Bank leaders, in a bid to stem Hamas’s growing influence and keep a lid on violent unrest. —WSJ, 9 Feb. 2022

But some epidemiologists are cautiously optimistic that enough is being done to keep a lid on the virus over the winter. —Fox News, 26 Nov. 2021

The increase in hiring and vacancies should help workers returning to the jobs market following the end of a salary support scheme, which the government introduced at the outset of the pandemic to keep a lid on job losses. —Pan Pylas, ajc, 12 Oct. 2021

Alibaba appears to be trying to keep a lid on discussions of the matter. —New York Times, 1 Sep. 2021

But a lot of spare capacity appears to remain, which could potentially keep a lid on prices. —Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 2 June 2021

In the aftermath, the Sheriff’s Department tried to keep a lid on the incident instead of following investigative protocols — even after determining that several more deputies had obtained photographs, according to sources not authorized to discuss the situation. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2020

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