Word.ws English Dictionary

keeping one's head on a swivel

keeping one's head on a swivel is the present participle and gerund of keep one's head on a swivel.

Meaning of keep one's head on a swivel

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive, (with "for")) To be on the alert, to be watchful.
    • Near-synonyms: keep an eye out, keep one's eyes open

Questions about keeping one's head on a swivel

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

Words near keeping one's head on a swivel in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: keeping one's head on a swivel (page history and authors); keep one's head on a swivel (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 one's head on a swivel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/keeping_one%27s_head_on_a_swivel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.