Word.ws English Dictionary

keeping one's mouth shut

keeping one's mouth shut is the present participle and gerund of keep one's mouth shut.

Meaning of keep one's mouth shut

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To keep a secret; to refrain from speaking indiscreetly or carelessly; broadly, to refrain from speaking altogether.
    • Near-synonym: keep it in the family

Questions about keeping one's mouth shut

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

Words near keeping one's mouth shut in the dictionary

  1. keeping one's head on a swivel
  2. keeping one's head on one's shoulders
  3. keeping one's head upon one's shoulders
  4. keeping one's knickers on
  5. keeping one's lips sealed
  6. keeping one's mouth shut
  7. keeping one's nerve
  8. keeping one's nose clean
  9. keeping one's options open
  10. keeping one's own counsel
  11. keeping one's pants on

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: keeping one's mouth shut (page history and authors); keep one's mouth shut (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.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “keeping one's mouth shut.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/keeping_one%27s_mouth_shut. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.