Keep your options open

How it is used

Used when delaying commitment or choosing flexible terms. It does not mean avoiding a decision indefinitely when a deadline applies.

Example sentences

1. A short initial lease can help you keep your options open while you assess demand in the new region.

   A limited commitment preserves flexibility about the future location.

2. You can keep your options open until Friday, but the venue needs a final answer then.

   The freedom to postpone a choice has a stated endpoint.

Common collocations

• try to keep your options open
• prefer to keep your options open

Related terms

• offerA statement that you are willing to sell, buy, pay or do something under certain conditions, which the other side can accept or reject.
• proposalA formal plan or offer, written or spoken, that is put forward for others such as a client or management to consider and accept.

More terms: Office Idioms and Phrases

• touch base
• heads-up
• on the same page
• keep me posted
• ballpark figure
• bandwidth
• circle back
• low-hanging fruit
• get the ball rolling
• back to the drawing board
• drop the ball
• on my radar