keep to oneself

present singular third person keeps to oneself · participle present keeping to oneself · participle past kept to oneself · past kept to oneself

1. intransitiveTo purposely avoid interaction with others; to be introverted.

   She preferred to keep to herself after her husband died.

   1 more example

   I've done no harm, I keep to myself / There's nothing wrong with my state of mental health

   1981, Men at Work, “Who Can It Be Now?”, in Business as Usual

   Synonyms: keep oneself to oneself

2. transitiveTo refrain from telling or giving; to keep secret, or refuse to share.

   keep oneself to oneself

   1 more example

   Then he fell to gabbling strange and dreadful things which were not clearly understandable, and which the doctor admonished them to keep to themselves.

   1900, Mark Twain, chapter IV, in The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg