keep the rent down

verb

To deter undesirables from a space, especially through intentionally off-putting behavior.

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Meanings

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

present singular third person keeps the rent down · participle present keeping the rent down · participle past kept the rent down · past kept the rent down

  1. InternetidiomaticslanglifestyleTo deter undesirables from a space, especially through intentionally off-putting behavior.
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see keep, the, rent, down.

Origin

An ellipsis of longer phrases such as "firing gunshots to keep the rent down" or "keeping the rent down in the neighborhood," referring to an alleged method for preventing gentrification.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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