KEEP (SOMEBODY/SOMETHING) DOWN


Meaning of KEEP (SOMEBODY/SOMETHING) DOWN in English

keep somebody/something ↔ down phrasal verb ( see also ↑ keep )

1 . to prevent the size, cost, or quantity of something from increasing or being too great:

We need to keep costs down.

2 . to succeed in keeping food in your stomach, instead of bringing it up again out of your mouth, when you are ill:

I could hardly keep anything down for about three days.

3 . used to ask someone to make less noise:

Keep your voice down – she’ll hear you!

Can you keep it down – I’m trying to work.

4 . to prevent a group of people from becoming as successful and powerful as the other people in a society:

Plantation owners kept slaves down by refusing them an education.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.