What Does “Keep at Bay” Mean?

“Keeping at bay” or “holding at bay” can also mean “keeping something from escaping.” So the idiom can be used to mean different things, but all of its meanings and uses have to do with hunting. In a way, the way the idiom is used depends on who is using it. If a pursuer is using it, it can mean to prevent something from escaping. If the person who is being pursued is using it, then it can mean keeping something away.

donasmrs

April 28, 2014

@SarahGen– But don’t you usually consider that “something” as dangerous or harmful for you? That’s why you want to keep it at bay, right?

So the meaning of the phrase has not really changed that much. Just as the quarry wants to keep its pursuers at bay, we also want to keep things we dislike at bay. I suppose the meaning of the phrase has expanded and it has become more general. But it has not taken on a completely different meaning from its original use.