Word.ws English Dictionary

keep one's head on one's shoulders

keep one's head on one's shoulders is the alternative form of keep one's head.

Meaning of keep one's head

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To remain calm, reasonable, level-headed, especially in a situation likely to cause distress.
    • If you can keep your head when all about you
      Are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . .1895, Rudyard Kipling, If—

Forms of keep one's head on one's shoulders

third-person singular presentkeeps one's head on one's shoulders
present participlekeeping one's head on one's shoulders
past participlekept one's head on one's shoulders
pastkept one's head on one's shoulders

Questions about keep one's head on one's shoulders

What is keep one's head on one's shoulders the alternative form of?
Keep one's head on one's shoulders is the alternative form of keep one's head.

Words near keep one's head on one's shoulders in the dictionary

  1. keep one's head above the water
  2. keep one's head above water
  3. keep one's head below the parapet
  4. keep one's head down
  5. keep one's head on a swivel
  6. keep one's head on one's shoulders
  7. keep one's head up
  8. keep one's head upon one's shoulders
  9. keep one's knickers on
  10. keep one's lips sealed
  11. keep one's mouth shut

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: keep one's head on one's shoulders (page history and authors); keep one's head (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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