Word.ws English Dictionary

keeping one's head

keeping one's head is the present participle and gerund 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—

Questions about keeping one's head

What is keeping one's head the present participle and gerund of?
Keeping one's head is the present participle and gerund of keep one's head.

Words near keeping one's head in the dictionary

  1. keeping one's eyes peeled
  2. keeping one's eyes skinned
  3. keeping one's fingers crossed
  4. keeping one's guard up
  5. keeping one's hair on
  6. keeping one's head
  7. keeping one's head above the water
  8. keeping one's head above water
  9. keeping one's head below the parapet
  10. keeping one's head down
  11. keeping one's head on a swivel

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: keeping one's head (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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