Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

keep tabs on

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.61 in modern English

Syllables: keep- tab-s on
IPA

18

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To monitor; to keep track of; to watch.

Example Sentences

"If you are careful to keep tabs on your finances, you should be able to stay within a budget."
"The police kept close tabs on him during the holidays."
"He might have spent the hours camped under the trees of the more remote meadow, whence in the brilliant moonlight he could keep tabs on the trails."
"I'll catch him—I'll trip him up—I'll keep tabs on his arguments."
"Syria's much feared state-security apparatus keeps close tabs on everyone entering and leaving the embassy."
"Nadal, absent from the draw for the first time nearly two decades, said he won’t watch it all from afar, but he will be keeping tabs."

Etymology

See tab (“tablet or slate used for keeping a record of accounts”).

Inflected Forms

keeps tabs on (present, singular) keeping tabs on (participle, present) kept tabs on (participle, past) kept tabs on (past)

Questions

What does keep tabs on mean?: To monitor; to keep track of; to watch.
Where does keep tabs on come from?: See tab (“tablet or slate used for keeping a record of accounts”).

How to pronounce keep tabs on

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “keep tabs on”.
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