keep to oneself

English

Verb

keep to oneself (third-person singular simple present keeps to oneself, present participle keeping to oneself, simple past and past participle kept to oneself)

1. (intransitive) To purposely avoid interaction with others; to be introverted.

   Synonym: keep oneself to oneself

   She preferred to keep to herself after her husband died.

   • 1981, Men at Work (lyrics and music), “Who Can It Be Now?”, in Business as Usual:

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

2. (transitive) To refrain from telling or giving; to keep secret, or refuse to share.

   keep oneself to oneself

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

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

Derived terms

• to oneself