keep (someone) at it
idiom
: to force or cause (someone) to continue doing something
The coach kept us (hard) at it until late afternoon.
Examples of keep (someone) at it in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Kwiatek is emblematic of a large but little-known swath of the art world — those who have never been famous and likely never will be but doggedly, passionately keep at it anyway.
—
Robin Pogrebin, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2023
Kiehm, who likely spends more days each year pursuing steelhead on local waters than any other angler through personal outings and trips with clients through PK Fishing Tours, his part-time guiding business, will keep at it.
—Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2023
Democrats have begun to reclaim it and should keep at it.
—Michael Sokolove, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2022
There is even a name for them: zama zamas, a Zulu colloquial term meaning to persevere, to keep at it.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2022
Really just dedicated a lot of our time to practicing and getting better and just tried to just keep at it.
—Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 13 July 2022
Just as thieves keep a close watch on your front stoop for boxes during the holiday shopping season, Amazon's annual summer sale extravaganza has given them a reason to keep at it during the summer.
—Marc Saltzman, USA TODAY, 8 July 2022
Get your blog up and running, start posting to your Instagram page, and keep at it.
—Allbusiness, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2021
Unlike last week, Day was unwilling to keep at it until something finally broke.
—Stephen Means, cleveland, 6 Nov. 2021
Robin Pogrebin, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2023
Kiehm, who likely spends more days each year pursuing steelhead on local waters than any other angler through personal outings and trips with clients through PK Fishing Tours, his part-time guiding business, will keep at it.
—Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 2 Jan. 2023
Democrats have begun to reclaim it and should keep at it.
—Michael Sokolove, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2022
There is even a name for them: zama zamas, a Zulu colloquial term meaning to persevere, to keep at it.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2022
Really just dedicated a lot of our time to practicing and getting better and just tried to just keep at it.
—Mark Inabinett | Minabinett@al.com, al, 13 July 2022
Just as thieves keep a close watch on your front stoop for boxes during the holiday shopping season, Amazon's annual summer sale extravaganza has given them a reason to keep at it during the summer.
—Marc Saltzman, USA TODAY, 8 July 2022
Get your blog up and running, start posting to your Instagram page, and keep at it.
—Allbusiness, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2021
Unlike last week, Day was unwilling to keep at it until something finally broke.
—Stephen Means, cleveland, 6 Nov. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'keep (someone) at it.' 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 (someone) at it
Cite this Entry
“Keep (someone) at it.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keep%20%28someone%29%20at%20it. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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