KEEP AT BAY

Sometimes you realize that some things or certain people don't make you comfortable due to various reasons. To avoid any conflict or unpleasantness you choose to stay away in such situations. To keep at bay (from someone or something) means to keep a safe distance from them. It also means to prevent something or someone from coming too near to you or harming you which could be a person or a problem.

So When you keep something or someone at bay, you are handling the situation more tactfully without getting into any unnecessary mess or a problem. So you very smartly choose to stay away by keeping things at bay.

For example, When you are on a weight loss program, you keep yummy deserts at bay as they go against your goal of losing weight. Okay, now that you know what this idiom means, let's take a look at some example sentences to see how you can use it in your daily conversation.

Example 01 : Whenever Tina is out, she keeps her husband's credit cards at bay, as she can't resist shopping.
Ex 02 : A daily dose of vitamin C keeps cough and cold at bay.
Ex 03 : To keep the unwanted telemarketing calls at bay , John registered his mobile no in the DND directory.
Ex 04 : Practicing yoga and meditation are good ways to keep stress at bay.
Ex 05 : keeping huge liabilities at bay, is a hassle free way of running your business as there is less burden of out standings.  
Ex 06 : When you are working on the computer for long hours, doing stretches at regular intervals, keeps back and neck problems at bay, as they help in relaxing your muscles.
Ex 07 : The nutritionist told Janet, " To fight obesity, Keep junk food at bay and stock your fridge with vegetables and fruits."
Ex 08 : The star couple agreed for an interview with the media after the latter promised to keep questions regarding their wedding plans at bay.
Ex 09 : Due to a serious leg sprain, Rosy had to keep her high heels at bay, to avoid further damage.
Ex 10 : William missed his girlfriend so much, that he couldn't keep her thoughts at bay and flew down immediately to see her.
Ex11 : To keep spam emails at bay, I installed an email filtering software in my laptop.