Word.ws English Dictionary

keeping a lid on

keeping a lid on is the present participle of keep a lid on.

Meaning of keep a lid on

Verb

keep a lid on (third-person singular simple present keeps a lid on, present participle keeping a lid on, simple past and past participle kept a lid on)

  1. (idiomatic, imperative) To keep something secret.
    • It's supposed to be a surprise, so try to keep a lid on it, will you?

Questions about keeping a lid on

What is keeping a lid on the present participle of?
Keeping a lid on is the present participle of keep a lid on.

Words near keeping a lid on in the dictionary

  1. keeping
  2. keeping a civil tongue in one's head
  3. keeping a close watch
  4. keeping a cool head
  5. keeping a dog and barking oneself
  6. keeping a lid on
  7. keeping a look-out
  8. keeping a low profile
  9. keeping a tight rein on
  10. keeping a watch out
  11. keeping a weather eye open

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: keeping a lid on (page history and authors); keep a lid on (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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Cite this entry: “keeping a lid on.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/keeping_a_lid_on. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.