keep the lights on

verb

To maintain operating expenses for a business.

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Meanings

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

present singular third person keeps the lights on · participle present keeping the lights on · participle past kept the lights on · past kept the lights on

  1. idiomaticinformalTo maintain operating expenses for a business.
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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