Keep a secret means not to tell anyone something you know. Keep something secret or keep something a secret from somebody means to hide something from other people or from one particular person.
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keep a secret; keep + something + secret; keep + something + a secret from + person
- Can you keep a secret? I'm planning a surprise party for Anna on Saturday.
- The company kept the new app secret until the official launch.
- My little brother is terrible at keeping secrets and tells Mum everything.
What changed
First versionPlease keep the news in secret until Friday.
RevisionPlease keep the news secret until Friday.
No preposition is needed here: keep something secret or keep something a secret. In secret means secretly and describes how something is done: They met in secret. Only in was removed.
A request to stay quiet often doesn't use the word secret at all: This is between us, so keep it to yourself. Keep it to yourself means don't tell anyone, and it works for any personal information, not only secrets.
Your turn
Don't tell Mark about the surprise party, because he can't ___ a secret.
Show the answer
keep — Not giving away a secret is keep a secret. Save means to rescue something or to keep it for later, such as money or a file, and does not go with secret.
Think of a secret someone trusted you with or one you kept from someone. Write who you kept it from and why.
We kept my sister's pregnancy a secret from our grandparents for three months because she wanted to tell them herself.
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