AAAmerican Accent US

keep away

Both

Sense-dependent: some meanings take an object and split, others take none. Check the sense you mean.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: keep AWAY. Saying “KEEP away” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Link across the gap. The final /p/ of “keep” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “keep away” is said “kee-paway”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.

What it means

  1. To stay at a distance from something.

    • “Keep away from the edge.”
    • “Keep the dog away from the flower beds.”

    Similar: avoid, stay clear of

The particle logic

away

Something moves off, vanishes, or keeps going steadily.

Listen + practice

Hear “keep away” spoken naturally

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Read the sentence aloud. Keep the stress on the particle and run the two words together — we’ll score every sound and flag what to work on.

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More KEEP phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

keep up

To maintain a pace or a standard.

keep up with

To stay level with someone or something moving forward.

keep on

To continue doing something.

keep out

To stay outside, or to prevent something from entering.

keep back

To withhold information or money.

keep to

To adhere to a plan, rule or route.

keep away — meaning, examples & how to say it