keep good time

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

To maintain a consistent and accurate rhythm or tempo, especially in music

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Duy trì nhịp điệu hoặc tempo nhất quán và chính xác

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: maintain good time
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The drummer keeps good time throughout the song

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “keep good time” mean?

To maintain a consistent and accurate rhythm or tempo, especially in music Literally: maintain good time

Is “keep good time” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.