Alternative forms

• keep one's head on one's shoulders

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#KEEPONESHEAD

Verb

keep one's head (third-person singular simple present keeps one's head, present participle keeping one's head, simple past and past participle kept one's head)Category:English lemmas#KEEPONESHEADCategory:English verbs#KEEPONESHEADCategory:English multiword terms#KEEPONESHEADCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#KEEPONESHEADCategory:Pages with entries#KEEP%20ONE'S%20HEADCategory:Pages with 1 entry#KEEP%20ONE'S%20HEAD

1. (idiomaticCategory:English idioms#KEEPONESHEAD) To remain calm, reasonable, level-headed, especially in a situation likely to cause distress.
   • 1895, Rudyard Kipling, If—:

     If you can keep your head when all about you
     Are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . .

     Category:English terms with quotations#KEEPONESHEAD

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
   • 1910, John Buchan, chapter 16, in Prester John:

     The ruffian kept his head, and though the dog's teeth were in his shoulder, he managed to get his right hand free.

     Category:English terms with quotations#KEEPONESHEAD

     Category:Quotation templates to be cleaned
   • 2008 March 7, “Mother Throws 7 Kids Out Window To Save Them From Fire”, in CityNews, Canada, retrieved 12 Dec. 2009:

     Officials are calling the woman a hero for keeping her head and finding the only way out amid the panic of the smoke and flames.

     Category:English terms with quotations#KEEPONESHEAD

See also

• keep one's head above water