keep one's head on one's shoulders

A form of keep one's head — To remain calm, reasonable, level-headed, especially in a situation likely to cause distress.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbkeep one's head on one's shoulders (third-person singular simple present keeps one's head on one's shoulders, present participle keeping one's head on one's shoulders, simple past and past participle kept one's head on one's shoulders)

present singular third person keeps one's head on one's shoulders · participle present keeping one's head on one's shoulders · participle past kept one's head on one's shoulders · past kept one's head on one's shoulders

  1. alternativeAlternative form of keep one's head.
Cite this entry
APA

keep one's head on one's shoulders. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20one's%20head%20on%20one's%20shoulders

MLA

“keep one's head on one's shoulders.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20one's%20head%20on%20one's%20shoulders. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “keep one's head on one's shoulders,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/keep%20one's%20head%20on%20one's%20shoulders.

Source: keep one's head on one's shoulders on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.