phrasal verb · neutral
keep someone at bay
UK/kiːp sʌmwʌn æt beɪ/US/kip ˈsʌmwʌn æt beɪ/keep·some·one·at·BAY
task2speaking
to prevent something or someone unpleasant from coming too close or causing harm
Examples
“Good hygiene helps keep infections at bay.”
“The security measures kept the protesters at bay.”
“Vaccination programmes can keep epidemics at bay.”
Band 8 sentence
“Regular exercise helped keep illness at bay during the winter.”
Collocations
- keep disease at bay
- keep problems at bay
Word family
keep someone at bay verbkeeping someone at bay gerundkept someone at bay past
Common mistakes
keep away from→keep someone at bay
prevent someone→keep someone at bay
Say it for a higher band
5prevent→6keep away from→7+keep someone at bay
Synonyms
ward off
keep away
Easily confused
ward off
“Farmers used pesticides to ward off the crop pests.”
Related words
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In keep …
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