Word.ws English Dictionary

keeping one's pecker up

keeping one's pecker up is the present participle and gerund of keep one's pecker up.

Meaning of keep one's pecker up

Verb

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

  1. (UK, idiomatic) To remain cheerful; keep smiling.
    • “Of course you will,” said Wraysford, cheerily; “it’s hard lines at first. Keep your pecker up, young ’un.” The young ’un, despite this friendly advice, felt very far from keeping up his pecker. But he did his best, and worked his face into a melancholy sort of a smile.1880, Talbot Baines Reed, The Fifth Form at Saint Dominic's

Questions about keeping one's pecker up

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

Words near keeping one's pecker up in the dictionary

  1. keeping one's nerve
  2. keeping one's nose clean
  3. keeping one's options open
  4. keeping one's own counsel
  5. keeping one's pants on
  6. keeping one's pecker up
  7. keeping one's powder dry
  8. keeping one's shirt on
  9. keeping one's side of the bargain
  10. keeping one's stick on the ice
  11. keeping one's temper

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: keeping one's pecker up (page history and authors); keep one's pecker up (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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