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
Jackson asked Abendshien to keep quiet about his visit, but with reporters on the premises, the pop icon’s appearance made news.
—
Erin Jensen, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, on the dock, Zoë overhears the provisioners say something about being paid to keep quiet.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 26 Nov. 2025
Hal orders Kate to keep quiet, and then goes over to Grace Penn.
—Trish Deitch, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
The next day, Alex begs Mia to put her on TMS to talk about the deep fake, but Mia won’t, because that would be directly disobeying Stella and Celine’s order for Alex to keep quiet.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for keep quiet
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Erin Jensen, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, on the dock, Zoë overhears the provisioners say something about being paid to keep quiet.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 26 Nov. 2025
Hal orders Kate to keep quiet, and then goes over to Grace Penn.
—Trish Deitch, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
The next day, Alex begs Mia to put her on TMS to talk about the deep fake, but Mia won’t, because that would be directly disobeying Stella and Celine’s order for Alex to keep quiet.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for keep quiet
Cite this Entry
“Keep quiet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keep%20quiet. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share