keep down
2 meanings
manage not to vomit food or drink
What does "keep down" mean in this sense?
Examples
- She had such bad morning sickness that she couldn't keep anything down for weeks.
- I managed to keep the soup down, but I still felt terrible all evening.
- Are you able to keep food down yet, or are you still feeling sick?
How to use it
The most common pattern — almost always in the negative with modal verbs, describing an inability to stop vomiting something.
He ate a little toast, but he couldn't keep it down.
The object — always a food or drink item — is placed between 'keep' and 'down'.
She struggled to keep any fluids down after the stomach bug hit.
With pronoun objects like 'it' or 'anything', the pronoun must go between 'keep' and 'down', never after.
I tried eating some crackers, but I just couldn't keep them down.
One of the more natural ways to use this phrase in a positive or affirmative context, often suggesting it was difficult.
After a few small sips, she finally managed to keep some water down.
Commonly used in questions or with negation to ask about someone's ability to eat or drink without being sick.
Are you able to keep any food down, or has it been coming straight back up?
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
With pronoun objects like 'it', 'them', or 'anything', the pronoun must go between 'keep' and 'down'. Placing it after 'down' is not correct in English.
When the object is a food or drink item and the context involves nausea, 'keep down' means 'not vomit'. When the object is something like costs, noise, or prices, the meaning is completely different — 'prevent from increasing'. Make sure the context and object match the sense you intend.
'Keep down' in this sense sounds forced or unnatural in the present continuous. Use the present simple, present perfect, or past forms instead.
Usage
This phrase is informal and most natural in negative contexts — you'll almost always hear it as 'can't keep it down' or 'couldn't keep anything down'. In formal medical contexts, doctors might say 'unable to retain food or fluids' instead.
stop something from rising or increasing
Sense 2: What does "keep sth down" mean?
Examples
- The company is working hard to keep its operating costs down.
- New measures were introduced to keep crime down in the city centre.
- If we want to keep prices down, we need to find cheaper suppliers.
How to use it
The most common pattern, used when the object is a short noun or noun phrase placed between 'keep' and 'down'.
The new budget is designed to keep spending down over the next three years.
When using a pronoun, it must go between 'keep' and 'down' — placing it after 'down' is ungrammatical.
Emissions are rising again — we really need to keep them down.
This phrasal verb commonly follows modal-style expressions like 'try to', 'need to', or 'manage to', reflecting the ongoing effort involved.
The landlord said he would try to keep the rent down for existing tenants.
The passive is natural when the focus is on what is being controlled rather than who is controlling it, especially in economic or political writing.
Interest rates have been kept down deliberately to encourage borrowing and investment.
With longer or more complex noun phrases, the object can come after 'down' instead of in the middle.
It's difficult to keep down the overall cost of materials when global supply chains are disrupted.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
When using a pronoun such as 'it' or 'them', it must go between 'keep' and 'down'. Placing the pronoun after 'down' is ungrammatical in English.
'Bring down' means to actively reduce something from a higher level, while 'keep down' means to prevent it from rising or to maintain it at a low level. They describe different actions and are not always interchangeable.
In this sense, 'keep down' takes abstract or measurable things as its object — like costs, noise, or prices. Using food or drink as the object changes the meaning entirely to a completely different sense related to nausea.
Usage
This phrasal verb is neutral in register and works in both everyday conversation and formal business or economic writing. It emphasises maintaining a low level over time, so it often appears with verbs like 'try to', 'help', or 'manage to'.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this phrase almost always used in the negative?
Because the situation that makes this phrase useful is usually one where someone is failing to keep food down — that's when you need to talk about it. Saying 'I kept it down' is grammatically fine, but it's far less common because people usually only bring up the topic when things are going wrong. The negative forms like 'couldn't keep anything down' are simply the most natural and frequent.
Can 'keep down' be used in the passive, like 'the food couldn't be kept down'?
No — this sounds very unnatural. The subject should always be the person experiencing the nausea, not the food or drink. Stick to active constructions like 'she couldn't keep the food down' rather than trying to make the food the subject.
What kinds of things can be the object of this phrasal verb?
The object is always a food or drink item — things like 'food', 'water', 'fluids', 'breakfast', 'medicine', or 'anything'. The word 'anything' is especially common in negative sentences: 'I couldn't keep anything down'. You would never use an abstract noun like 'costs' or 'noise' as the object in this sense.
Does 'keep down' in this sense have a more formal equivalent?
Yes — in formal or clinical writing, you might see 'retain food or fluids' instead. For example, a medical document might say 'the patient was unable to retain fluids'. In everyday conversation, though, 'keep down' is the natural and widely understood choice.
Can I use 'keep down' in this sense to talk about the future?
It can sound a little awkward in straightforward future constructions like 'I will keep it down'. It's more natural to use expressions like 'I hope I can keep it down' or 'let's see if you can keep some food down'. Future simple works better here when framed with modal verbs or expressions of hope and uncertainty.
Does 'keep down' always mean preventing something from rising, or does it have other meanings?
No, it doesn't always mean this. There is at least one other common sense of 'keep down', which uses food or drink as its object. The meaning in this entry always takes abstract or measurable things like costs, prices, noise, or emissions — context and the type of object make the difference clear.
Can I use 'keep down' in the passive?
Yes, the passive works very naturally with this sense, particularly in economic or political writing. For example: 'Wages have been kept down despite rising productivity.' It's a good choice when you want to focus on what is being controlled rather than who is controlling it.
What kinds of things can you 'keep down'?
Typically, you keep down things that are abstract, measurable, or quantifiable — such as costs, prices, inflation, emissions, noise, spending, taxes, or crime. These are all things that could rise or increase if not managed. You would not use this sense with physical objects.
Is 'keep down' more suitable for formal writing or everyday conversation?
It works in both. In business reports, news articles, and political speeches, you'll find it used about inflation, wages, or deficits. In everyday conversation, people use it for more practical things like keeping the noise or heating costs down. It's a neutral, versatile expression.
Can 'keep down' describe a one-time action, or does it always imply something ongoing?
It almost always implies ongoing effort or a sustained state rather than a single action. That's why it often appears with phrases like 'try to keep', 'manage to keep', or 'continue to keep'. If you want to describe a single, completed reduction, 'bring down' is usually the more natural choice.
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