Meaning & use
keep to yourself
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiom
to stay alone and not interact much with other people
Grammar: Used without an object, often in the pattern 'keep to yourself'.
Patterns
- keep to yourself
- keep to himself/herself
He keeps to himself and rarely joins group activities.
She kept to herself at the party, reading a book in the corner.
After the argument, he decided to keep to himself for a while.
phraseidiom
to not tell other people about something; to keep something private
Grammar: Often used with 'keep something to yourself'.
Patterns
- keep something to yourself
- keep it to yourself
Please keep this news to yourself for now.
She kept her plans to herself until they were final.
He kept his feelings to himself and never complained.
Common combinations
- keep to yourself
- He tends to keep to himself at work.
- keep something to yourself
- Keep this information to yourself; it's confidential.
- keep your thoughts to yourself
- Sometimes it's better to keep your thoughts to yourself.
Synonyms and how they differ
- be reclusive
- This is stronger and more formal, suggesting a lifestyle of avoiding people; 'keep to yourself' is milder and more everyday.
- keep private
- This focuses on not sharing information, while 'keep to yourself' can also mean being solitary.
Opposites
Practice
Which sentence uses 'keep to yourself' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option A correctly uses 'keep to herself' to mean stay alone. Option B is ungrammatical because 'keep to yourself' does not take an object like 'the door'. Option C uses the wrong reflexive pronoun. Option D is ungrammatical and changes the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “keep to yourself”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.