keep down v 1: place a limit on the number of [syn: number, keep down] 2: put down by force or intimidation; "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land" [syn: repress, quash, keep down}, subdue, subjugate, reduce] 3: manage not to throw up [ant: barf, be sick, cast, cat, chuck, disgorge, honk, puke, purge, regorge, regurgitate, retch, sick, spew, spue, throw up, upchuck, vomit, vomit up]

keep down v. Keep from progressing or growing; keep within limits; control. The children could not keep their voices down. We hoe the garden to keep down the weeds. You can't keep a good man down. Compare: GET AHEAD.

keep down transitive verb Date: 1548 1. to keep in control <keep expenses down> 2. to prevent from growing, advancing, or succeeding

keep down 1. If you keep the number, size, or amount of something down, you do not let it get bigger or go higher. The prime aim is to keep inflation down... Administration costs were kept down to just £460. PHRASAL VERB: V n P, V P n (not pron) 2. If someone keeps a group of people down, they prevent them from getting power and status and being completely free. No matter what a woman tries to do to improve her situation, there is some barrier or attitude to keep her down. = hold back PHRASAL VERB: V n P, also V P n (not pron) 3. If you keep food or drink down, you manage to swallow it properly and not vomit, even though you feel sick. I tried to give her something to drink but she couldn't keep it down. PHRASAL VERB: V n P

96 Moby Thesaurus words for "keep down": asphyxiate, beat down, bottle up, break, browbeat, bulldoze, bully, castrate, censor, choke off, clamp down on, coerce, compel, cork, cork up, cow, crack down on, crush, damp down, daunt, deprive of freedom, despotize, disenfranchise, disfranchise, dominate, domineer, domineer over, drown, enslave, enthrall, extinguish, gag, grind, grind down, henpeck, hold captive, hold down, hold in bondage, hold in captivity, hold in leash, hold in subjection, intimidate, jump on, keep under, kill, lead captive, lord it over, make dependent, muzzle, oppress, overawe, overbear, overmaster, override, peonize, pour water on, press heavy on, put down, quash, quell, quench, repress, ride over, ride roughshod over, shut down on, silence, sit down on, sit on, smash, smother, squash, squelch, stanch, stifle, strangle, stultify, subdue, subject, subjugate, subordinate, suffocate, suppress, take captive, terrorize, throttle, trample down, trample upon, tread down, tread upon, tyrannize, tyrannize over, unman, vassalize, walk all over, walk over, weigh heavy on

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