keep out

English

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To refrain from entering a place or condition.
    After being warned, he kept out.
  2. (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”.
  3. (African-American Vernacular) To dress up

Usage notes

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

Translations

See also

Anagrams
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