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
Alamo Drafthouse movie theaters are loud and proud about their policy of kicking out people who don’t keep quiet.
—
John Jurgensen, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2023
The actress shared that her parents omitted the information in order to keep quiet about their fertility problems.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 25 Sep. 2023
But fans generally encouraged one another to keep quiet to respect the couple’s privacy.
—Angela Yang, NBC News, 24 Sep. 2023
The fashion aficionado revealed that her mother Barbara — who died in September 2022 — was a piano teacher so she and her brother were expected to keep quiet.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2023
That repeats what agency officials have said since The Salt Lake Tribune broke the story last year about the controversial bid process and the suspension, which had been keep quiet until whistleblower Tim Donaldson came forward.
—Courtney Tanner, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Sep. 2023
The only reason any of this has come out now is because Mr. Pitt decided to sue her for not agreeing to keep quiet.
—Benjamin Vanhoose, Peoplemag, 11 July 2023
There’s the misconception that in order to advance financially survive in a system that has historically been against them, AAPI people must be cooperative and keep quiet in order to not rock the boat and be acceptable to the white gaze.
—Thuc Doan Nguyen, refinery29.com, 4 May 2023
Her immediate reaction was to keep quiet after watching ‘Anti-Hero’.
—Maggie Zhou, refinery29.com, 27 Oct. 2022
See More
John Jurgensen, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2023
The actress shared that her parents omitted the information in order to keep quiet about their fertility problems.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 25 Sep. 2023
But fans generally encouraged one another to keep quiet to respect the couple’s privacy.
—Angela Yang, NBC News, 24 Sep. 2023
The fashion aficionado revealed that her mother Barbara — who died in September 2022 — was a piano teacher so she and her brother were expected to keep quiet.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2023
That repeats what agency officials have said since The Salt Lake Tribune broke the story last year about the controversial bid process and the suspension, which had been keep quiet until whistleblower Tim Donaldson came forward.
—Courtney Tanner, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Sep. 2023
The only reason any of this has come out now is because Mr. Pitt decided to sue her for not agreeing to keep quiet.
—Benjamin Vanhoose, Peoplemag, 11 July 2023
There’s the misconception that in order to advance financially survive in a system that has historically been against them, AAPI people must be cooperative and keep quiet in order to not rock the boat and be acceptable to the white gaze.
—Thuc Doan Nguyen, refinery29.com, 4 May 2023
Her immediate reaction was to keep quiet after watching ‘Anti-Hero’.
—Maggie Zhou, refinery29.com, 27 Oct. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'keep quiet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near keep quiet
Cite this Entry
“Keep quiet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keep%20quiet. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
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