keep a lid on

verb

To keep something secret.

“It's supposed to be a surprise, so try to keep a lid on it, will you?”

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Meanings

verbkeep a lid on (third-person singular simple present keeps a lid on, present participle keeping a lid on, simple past and past participle kept a lid on)

present singular third person keeps a lid on · participle present keeping a lid on · participle past kept a lid on · past kept a lid on

  1. idiomaticimperativeTo keep something secret.

    It's supposed to be a surprise, so try to keep a lid on it, will you?

    1 more example

    If he was listening to the England fans who gathered and sang non-stop late into the Moscow night behind the goal in the Spartak Stadium, it may have dawned on him that keeping a lid on expectations is likely to be a losing battle.

    2018 July 3, Phil McNulty, “Colombia 1 - 1 England”, in BBC Sport

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 秘而不宣, 盡量保密 /尽量保密
  • 秘而不宣 (mì'érbùxuān)keep something secret
  • 盡量保密 /尽量保密 (jìnliàng bǎomì)keep something secret
Czech držet pod pokličkou
  • držet pod pokličkoukeep something secret
Finnish pitää salassa
  • pitää salassakeep something secret
German unter Verschluss halten, geheim halten
  • unter Verschluss haltenkeep something secret
  • geheim haltenkeep something secret
Cite this entry
APA

keep a lid on. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20a%20lid%20on

MLA

“keep a lid on.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20a%20lid%20on. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “keep a lid on,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20a%20lid%20on.

Source: keep a lid on on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.