Word.ws English Dictionary

kept one's head above water

kept one's head above water is the simple past and past participle of keep one's head above water.

Meaning of keep one's head above water

Verb

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

  1. (idiomatic) To survive or endure, especially in a situation in which one is struggling to avoid being overwhelmed by adverse financial circumstances.
    • Near-synonym: tread water
    Synonyms:
    tread water
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: maintain an above-water position of one's head so as not to drown in the water.
    • Near-synonym: tread water
    Synonyms:
    tread water

Questions about kept one's head above water

What is kept one's head above water the simple past and past participle of?
Kept one's head above water is the simple past and past participle of keep one's head above water.

Words near kept one's head above water in the dictionary

  1. kept one's fingers crossed
  2. kept one's guard up
  3. kept one's hair on
  4. kept one's head
  5. kept one's head above the water
  6. kept one's head above water
  7. kept one's head below the parapet
  8. kept one's head down
  9. kept one's head on a swivel
  10. kept one's head on one's shoulders
  11. kept one's head upon one's shoulders

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: kept one's head above water (page history and authors); keep one's head above water (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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