phrasal verb / idiom · neutral
keep one's options open
UK/kiːp wʌnz ˈɒpʃənz ˈəʊpən/US/kip wʌnz ˈɑpʃənz ˈoʊpən/keep·one's·OP·tions·OPEN
to avoid choosing so that several possibilities remain available
Examples
“I applied to three universities to keep my options open.”
“She kept her options open until the results came out.”
“Keeping your options open can be sensible when the future is uncertain.”
Band 8 sentence
“I applied to two universities to keep my options open in case one scholarship fell through.”
Collocations
- keep your options open
- keep options open until
Word family
Common mistakes
keep option open→keep one's options open
leave options open→keep one's options open
Say it for a higher band
5wait and see→6leave options open→7+keep one's options open
Synonyms
hedge one's bets
Easily confused
hedge one's bets
“To hedge his bets, he invested in both stocks and bonds.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In keep …
Learn it with its set