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
Risks Are Lurking Those big profits and sales, along with the company’s ability to continually beat estimates, has helped keep a lid on valuation metrics.
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Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
Other factors that can help keep a lid on insurance prices include opting for high deductibles and maintaining a clean driving record: few, if any, accidents, speeding tickets, lapses in coverage or, especially, citations for driving under the influence.
—The Arizona Republic, 11 Feb. 2024
Remember that the Paris Agreement aims to halve CO2 releases by 2030 to keep a lid on temperatures to minimize droughts, floods, and heatwaves.
—Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
Washington also aims to keep a lid on attacks by Iranian proxies across the region in response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
—Susannah George, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024
American engagement in Pakistan boils down to wanting the South Asian nation to keep a lid on Islamic terrorism and stabilize relations with its historic nemesis India—and Khan’s record is poor on both.
—TIME, 5 Feb. 2024
And finally, central bank interest rate hikes in the West have helped keep a lid on demand for oil and other key commodities, but that’s over now.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2024
But the second deal — one Mr. Biden did not want revealed — was an unwritten agreement that Iran would restrict its nuclear enrichment and keep a lid on the proxy forces.
—Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2024
The protests have forced Mr. Scholz’s unpopular government into a tricky balancing act, trying to keep a lid on the unrest while sticking to fiscal discipline after a constitutional court ruling in November threw its spending plans into disarray.
—Andreas Rinke and Miranda Murray, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Jan. 2024
Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
Other factors that can help keep a lid on insurance prices include opting for high deductibles and maintaining a clean driving record: few, if any, accidents, speeding tickets, lapses in coverage or, especially, citations for driving under the influence.
—The Arizona Republic, 11 Feb. 2024
Remember that the Paris Agreement aims to halve CO2 releases by 2030 to keep a lid on temperatures to minimize droughts, floods, and heatwaves.
—Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
Washington also aims to keep a lid on attacks by Iranian proxies across the region in response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
—Susannah George, Washington Post, 7 Feb. 2024
American engagement in Pakistan boils down to wanting the South Asian nation to keep a lid on Islamic terrorism and stabilize relations with its historic nemesis India—and Khan’s record is poor on both.
—TIME, 5 Feb. 2024
And finally, central bank interest rate hikes in the West have helped keep a lid on demand for oil and other key commodities, but that’s over now.
—Will Daniel, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2024
But the second deal — one Mr. Biden did not want revealed — was an unwritten agreement that Iran would restrict its nuclear enrichment and keep a lid on the proxy forces.
—Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2024
The protests have forced Mr. Scholz’s unpopular government into a tricky balancing act, trying to keep a lid on the unrest while sticking to fiscal discipline after a constitutional court ruling in November threw its spending plans into disarray.
—Andreas Rinke and Miranda Murray, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'keep a lid on.' 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 a lid on
Cite this Entry
“Keep a lid on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keep%20a%20lid%20on. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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