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keep at bay

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia 0.01 sec.
keep something/somebody at bay
to prevent something or someone unpleasant from coming too near you or harming you If we can keep the rabbits at bay, we should have a good crop of vegetables in the garden. For me, overeating is a way of keeping my feelings at bay.
See also: bay, keep

keep somebody at bay also hold somebody at bay
to prevent someone from moving closer He held the police at bay with a gun for several hours.
See also: bay, keep

keep something at bay also hold something at bay

to control something and prevent it from causing you problems She fought to keep her unhappiness at bay. In the garden, there's no security system to keep the rabbits at bay. Experts hope the economy will slow enough to keep inflation at bay.
See also: bay, keep


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Sadly, his rock-bottom self-esteem means she's totally oblivious to the raging passion Malc's struggling to keep at bay.
Her job is to feed its red squirrel population and keep at bay alien invaders from the animal and plant world.
Yet he was taken apart by the winner, paying the price for even keeping tabs and tiring so much that he was hard pressed to keep at bay the inferior Melling.
 
 
 
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