keep out

English

Pronunciation

Audio (US): (file)

Verb

keep out (third-person singular simple present keeps out, present participle keeping out, simple past and past participle kept out)

(intransitive) To refrain from entering a place or condition.
After being warned, he kept out.
(transitive) To restrain someone or something from entering a place or condition.
Antonyms: let in, lock in

Hyponym: lock out

The warning kept him out.
- 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:
  Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. […] Banks and credit-card firms are kept out of the picture. Talk to enough people in the field and someone is bound to mention the “democratisation of finance”.
(African-American Vernacular) To dress up
- 1996, Lil' Kim (lyrics and music), “Not Tonight”:
  Put me in Chanels, kept me out nice

Usage notes

Often seen, as imperative, on a sign posted as an attempt to prevent entry or access to a place.

Translations

refrain from entering

Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Danish: ingen adgang
Dutch: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: pysyä ulkona, pysytellä ulkona
French: rester en dehors, ne pas entrer
Polish: nie zbliżać się

restrain someone or something

Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Danish: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: pitää kaukana
French: bannir (fr), exclure (fr)

Anagrams

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