keep measures

verb

To show restraint; to behave with moderation.

First used 15th–19th c.
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Meanings

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

present singular third person keeps measures · participle present keeping measures · participle past kept measures · past kept measures · alternative keep measure · alternative observe measures

  1. obsoleteTo show restraint; to behave with moderation.First known use 15th–19th c.

    He keeps no measure in his contempt for him.

    1863, Charles Cowden Clarke, Shakespeare-characters
  2. obsoleteTo act in due consideration with (a person, opinion etc.).First known use 18th–19th c.

    Upon my return to Bath, I was again harrassed by lord —, who came thither accompanied by my father, whom I was very glad to see, though he importuned me to comply with my husband's desire, and for the future keep measures with the world.

    1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC
Cite this entry
APA

keep measures. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20measures

MLA

“keep measures.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20measures. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “keep measures,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20measures.

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