phrase🎓 English idiom

keep your chin up

to stay positive in a hard time

What it means

To stay cheerful and remain brave during a difficult or discouraging time. It is often said to encourage someone not to give up hope.

Examples

  • I know the diagnosis is scary, but keep your chin up and stay strong.
  • Keep your chin up; you'll find a new job soon enough.
  • Even after losing the match, the coach told the players to keep their chins up.
  • She kept her chin up through months of setbacks and never lost hope.

Where it comes from

An early 20th-century expression of American origin; a raised chin suggests confidence, while a lowered one signals defeat or sadness.

Related idioms

#pull yourself together#every cloud has a silver lining#keep your fingers crossed#on cloud nine

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