Keep something warm means to stop it from getting cold: keep the soup warm, a jacket that keeps you warm. You often hear it as advice in cold weather or when someone has a cold: Keep warm and get some rest.
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keep warm; keep + someone/something + warm
- We lit a fire in the evening to keep warm in the mountain cabin.
- Wrap the pizza in foil to keep it warm until everyone arrives.
- This coat isn't stylish, but it keeps me warm on the way to work.
What changed
First versionThe doctor told me to keep in warm and drink a lot of tea.
RevisionThe doctor told me to keep warm and drink a lot of tea.
The mistake adds in, as if warm were a place you stay in. But warm here describes you, meaning “not cold”, and keep warm literally means “stay warm”. No preposition goes before it: keep warm.
Get warm and warm up mean to become warm when you are already cold: I'm freezing, I need to warm up. Keep warm means stopping yourself from getting cold in advance: Take a scarf to keep warm.
Your turn
It's minus twenty today, so wear two pairs of socks to ___ while you wait for the bus.
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keep warm — You put the socks on before going out so that you don't get cold at the bus stop. That is keep warm. Get warm means warming up when you are already cold, but here the person is still at home.
Write about how you protect yourself from the cold in winter, at home or outside. Name one item or habit and explain why it helps.
In January I always carry a thermos of hot tea, because it keeps me warm during my long walk to the office.
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