Word.ws English Dictionary

keeps someone honest

keeps someone honest is the third-person singular simple present indicative of keep someone honest.

Meaning of keep someone honest

Verb

keep someone honest (third-person singular simple present keeps someone honest, present participle keeping someone honest, simple past and past participle kept someone honest)

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see keep, honest.
  2. To continue to compete strongly against someone despite being in an inferior position, so as not to allow one's opponent an easy victory.
    • Jones is down ten games to two, but still keeping his opponent honest.

Questions about keeps someone honest

What is keeps someone honest the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Keeps someone honest is the third-person singular simple present indicative of keep someone honest.

Words near keeps someone honest in the dictionary

  1. keeps score
  2. keeps shtum
  3. keeps sight of
  4. keeps someone company
  5. keeps someone guessing
  6. keeps someone honest
  7. keeps someone in the loop
  8. keeps someone on ice
  9. keeps someone on their toes
  10. keeps someone posted
  11. keeps someone posted up

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: keeps someone honest (page history and authors); keep someone honest (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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