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.

Examples of keep a lid on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Fed would likely keep interest rates higher to keep a lid on inflation, which is still significantly above its 2% target. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 20 Mar. 2025

And, even in the face of inflationary pressures and the Trump administration tariffs squeezing household budgets, Costco is trying to keep a lid on prices. —Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2025

This likely helps keep a lid on the amount of complex game visuals that need to be rendered at any one time. —Andrew Williams, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025

To somehow keep a lid on things, Starmer has chosen Peter Mandelson, a longtime ally of Blair and a former E.U. trade commissioner, as Britain’s new Ambassador to Washington. —Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025

Rhymes for keep a lid on

• agamemnon
• automaton
• diencephalon
• panopticon
• phenomenon
• aileron
• antiphon
• autobahn
• carillon
• castellan
• celadon
• cephalon