keep the lights on

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

keep the lights on (third-person singular simple present keeps the lights on, present participle keeping the lights on, simple past and past participle kept the lights on)

1. To maintain operating expenses for a business.

See also

• keep the home fires burning

Further reading

• “keep the lights on”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.