keep off

verb

1. refrain from certain foods or beverages

-

I keep off drugs

-

During Ramadan, Muslims avoid tobacco during the day

• Syn: ↑avoid

• Hypernyms: ↑abstain, ↑refrain, ↑desist

• Verb Frames:

-

Somebody ——s something

2. refrain from entering or walking onto

-

keep off the grass

-

stay off the premises

• Syn: ↑stay off

• Hypernyms: ↑avoid

• Verb Frames:

-

Somebody ——s somebody

* * *

1) avoid encroaching on or touching

■ avoid consuming or smoking

the first thing was to keep off alcohol

■ avoid (a subject)

2) (of bad weather) fail to occur

* * *

keep off [phrasal verb]

1 keep off (something) or keep (someone or something) off (something) : to stop or prevent (someone or something) from being on (something)

Keep [=stay] off the grass. [=do not walk on the grass]

Please keep the dog off the sofa.

2 keep (weight) off : to continue to weigh a lower amount than you formerly weighed : to not regain weight that you have lost

She has managed to keep (most of) the weight off for two years.

Losing weight is not as hard as keeping it off.

3 a keep off (something) : to not talk about (something)

I think we'd better keep off [=avoid] the subject of the war.

3 b keep (someone) off (something) : to prevent (someone) from talking about (something)

We tried to keep them off (the subject of) the war.

• • •

Main Entry: ↑keep

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ˌkeep ˈoff derived

if rain, snow, etc. keeps off, it does not fall

Main entry: ↑keep_derived