keep one's head upon one's shoulders

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

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Meanings

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

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

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

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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