to keep the peace
Preserved but no longer current.
To refrain from disturb- ing the public peace or doing anything that might result in strife or commotion. Wrong- doers are sometimes bound over to keep the peace for a certain time by a magistrate; a specified sum of money is deposited, and if the man commits a breach of the peace during that time he is not only arrested but his deposit is forfeit.
Tránh làm tổn hại đến hòa bình công cộng hoặc gây ra xung đột
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to keep the peace” mean?
To refrain from disturb- ing the public peace or doing anything that might result in strife or commotion. Wrong- doers are sometimes bound over to keep the peace for a certain time by a magistrate; a specified sum of money is deposited, and if the man commits a breach of the peace during that time he is not only arrested but his deposit is forfeit.
Is “to keep the peace” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.