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3. keep to oneself

keep to oneself

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keep something to oneself

to keep something a secret. I want you to keep this news to yourself. This should be kept to yourself.

See also: keep

keep to oneself

to be solitary; to stay away from other people. Ann tends to keep to herself. She doesn't have many friends. I try to keep to myself each morning so I can get some work done.

See also: keep

keep to oneself

1. Also, keep oneself to oneself. Shun the company of others, value one's privacy, as in She kept to herself all morning, or, as Doris Lessing put it in In Pursuit of the English (1960): "She keeps herself to herself so much." [Late 1600s]

2. Refrain from revealing, hold secret, as in He promised to keep the news to himself. Also see the synonym keep under one's hat.

See also: keep