Word.ws English Dictionary

hold one's head above water

hold one's head above water is the alternative form of keep one's head above water.

Meaning of keep one's head above water

Verb

keep one's head above water (third-person singular simple present keeps one's head above water, present participle keeping one's head above water, simple past and past participle kept one's head above water)

  1. (idiomatic) To survive or endure, especially in a situation in which one is struggling to avoid being overwhelmed by adverse financial circumstances.
    • Near-synonym: tread water
    Synonyms:
    tread water
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: maintain an above-water position of one's head so as not to drown in the water.
    • Near-synonym: tread water
    Synonyms:
    tread water

Forms of hold one's head above water

third-person singular presentholds one's head above water
present participleholding one's head above water
past participleheld one's head above water
pastheld one's head above water

Questions about hold one's head above water

What is hold one's head above water the alternative form of?
Hold one's head above water is the alternative form of keep one's head above water.

Words near hold one's head above water in the dictionary

  1. hold one's alcohol
  2. hold one's breath
  3. hold one's drink
  4. hold one's fire
  5. hold one's ground
  6. hold one's head above water
  7. hold one's head high
  8. hold one's horses
  9. hold one's jaw
  10. hold one's liquor
  11. hold one's mouth right

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hold one's head above water (page history and authors); keep one's head above water (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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