keep off

phrasal verb

kept off; keeping off; keeps off

1

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

Keep off the grass.

Please keep the dog off the sofa.

2

keep (weight) off : to continue to weigh a lower amount than one formerly weighed : to not regain weight that one has lost

Losing weight is not as hard as keeping it off.

3

: to not talk about (something)

I think we'd better keep off the subject of the war.

4

: to prevent (someone) from talking about (something)

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

Examples of keep off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And the official state party, which was also lined up in favor of Mr. Cook and against Mr. Burrows, has said that, under new rules, Republican lawmakers who did not support the majority Republican choice could be kept off the primary ballot by the party in a future election. —J. David Goodman, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025

In addition to keeping off the pounds, plant-centric diets lower inflammation throughout the body, another driver of sleep apnea, Eckert says. —Matt Fuchs, TIME, 21 Nov. 2024

Key stat Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon entered with an NHL-high 75 points (19 goals, 56 assists), but he was kept off the scoresheet. —Ken Powtak, The Denver Post, 25 Jan. 2025

Are there specific materials that should never be placed on a dryer? Items that are flammable or any cleaning products should be kept off of dryers at all costs. —Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 25 Jan. 2025

Rhymes for keep off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff