keep off
phrasal verb
kept off; keeping off; keeps off
1
: to stop or prevent (someone or something) from being on (something)
Keep off the grass.
Please keep the dog off the sofa.
2
keep (weight) off
: to continue to weigh a lower amount than one formerly weighed : to not regain weight that one has lost
Losing weight is not as hard as keeping it off.
3
: to not talk about (something)
I think we'd better keep off the subject of the war.
4
: to prevent (someone) from talking about (something)
We tried to keep them off (the subject of) the war.
Examples of keep off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
After being kept off the scoresheet all night, Reget took a pass from Nacho Flores on a restart and smashed it low into the far corner.
—
Nathan Dunn, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024
Pelicans' bigs Larry Nance Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas are tough to keep off the glass and are solid finishers for their leaping ability and lumberjack-like girth, respectively.
—Dana Scott, The Arizona Republic, 18 Jan. 2024
The state's highest court ruled in December that Trump's conduct surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection disqualified him from holding public office under an obscure provision of the Constitution and ordered him to be kept off the GOP primary ballot.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
Eddie is one of the teens Queen is trying to keep off the street and out of trouble.
—Gabe Cohen, CNN, 17 Feb. 2024
Whether Florida teens will be kept off social media any time soon is far from certain, however.
—Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 23 Feb. 2024
Kind of an important ingredient to keep off the list!!
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 25 Dec. 2023
If the Supreme Court rules he can be kept off the ballot before Colorado’s primary on March 5, the state’s secretary of state has said that votes for him would not count.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024
Bellows determined last month that Trump is ineligible for the presidency under a Civil War-era constitutional provision and should therefore be kept off Maine's primary ballot.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2024
Nathan Dunn, Kansas City Star, 4 Mar. 2024
Pelicans' bigs Larry Nance Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas are tough to keep off the glass and are solid finishers for their leaping ability and lumberjack-like girth, respectively.
—Dana Scott, The Arizona Republic, 18 Jan. 2024
The state's highest court ruled in December that Trump's conduct surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection disqualified him from holding public office under an obscure provision of the Constitution and ordered him to be kept off the GOP primary ballot.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
Eddie is one of the teens Queen is trying to keep off the street and out of trouble.
—Gabe Cohen, CNN, 17 Feb. 2024
Whether Florida teens will be kept off social media any time soon is far from certain, however.
—Lawrence Mower, Miami Herald, 23 Feb. 2024
Kind of an important ingredient to keep off the list!!
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 25 Dec. 2023
If the Supreme Court rules he can be kept off the ballot before Colorado’s primary on March 5, the state’s secretary of state has said that votes for him would not count.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024
Bellows determined last month that Trump is ineligible for the presidency under a Civil War-era constitutional provision and should therefore be kept off Maine's primary ballot.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'keep off.' 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 off
Cite this Entry
“Keep off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keep%20off. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share