Word.ws English Dictionary

keeping one's powder dry

keeping one's powder dry is the present participle and gerund of keep one's powder dry.

Meaning of keep one's powder dry

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To hold back on action until a future time; to save one's resources in case of emergency.
    • […]events now happening, which, beyond almost any set of circumstances which have arisen in our recent history, impose the necessity on Great Britain, at all events, of keeping her powder dry, and of keeping her resources in steadfast charge.1904, John Morley, Hansard

Questions about keeping one's powder dry

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

Words near keeping one's powder dry in the dictionary

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

Source and license

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