keep to (oneself)

keep to (oneself)

1. To refrain from attempting to communicate or make connections with others. If you want to make friends, you can't keep to yourself all the time. Start meeting people! The old man down the street always keeps to himself. I just realized I don't even know his name.
2. To not reveal or share some thought, idea, opinion, or piece of information with anyone else. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "keep" and "to." Please tell them to keep the news to themselves for the time being. We're not ready to announce anything publicly yet. You really shouldn't keep your feelings to yourself like that.
See also: keep
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

keep to something

to adhere to an agreement; to follow a plan; to keep a promise. Please keep to the agreed-upon plan. Can you keep to what we agreed on?
See also: keep

keep something to oneself

to keep something a secret. I want you to keep this news to yourself. This should be kept to yourself.
See also: keep

keep to oneself

to be solitary; to stay away from other people. Ann tends to keep to herself. She doesn't have many friends. I try to keep to myself each morning so I can get some work done.
See also: keep
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

keep to

1. Adhere to, conform to, as in Let's keep to the original purpose of this will. [Early 1600s]
2. Confine oneself to, as in Whenever she didn't feel well, she kept to her bed. Also see keep to oneself.
See also: keep

keep to oneself

1. Also, keep oneself to oneself. Shun the company of others, value one's privacy, as in She kept to herself all morning, or, as Doris Lessing put it in In Pursuit of the English (1960): "She keeps herself to herself so much." [Late 1600s]
2. Refrain from revealing, hold secret, as in He promised to keep the news to himself. Also see the synonym keep under one's hat.
See also: keep
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

ˌkeep something to yourˈself

not tell other people about something: I don’t want John to know about this, so keep it to yourself. OPPOSITE: spread the word
See also: keep, something
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

keep to

v.
1. To refrain from venturing away from some place or activity: Because of the rain, the kids mostly kept to their rooms.
2. To adhere to some plan; stick with something: We should ignore these new projects and keep to the original purpose of our organization.
3. To remain private, unsociable, or uncommunicative. Used reflexively: The people at the party were not very friendly, so I kept to myself.
See also: keep
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.

keep to (oneself)

1. To shun the company of others: She kept to herself all morning.
2. To refrain from divulging: He kept the news to himself.
See also: keep
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • keep to oneself
  • keep yourself to yourself
  • keep (oneself) to (oneself)
  • keep oneself to oneself
  • keep to
  • keep out
  • keep out (of something)
  • keep still
  • keep still (about something)
  • keep from (doing something)