keep one's head above the water
keep one's head above the 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)
- 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
- 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 keep one's head above the water
| third-person singular present | keeps one's head above the water |
|---|---|
| present participle | keeping one's head above the water |
| past participle | kept one's head above the water |
| past | kept one's head above the water |
Questions about keep one's head above the water
- What is keep one's head above the water the alternative form of?
- Keep one's head above the water is the alternative form of keep one's head above water.
Words near keep one's head above the water in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: keep one's head above the 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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