From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishkeep (close) tabs on somebody/somethingkeep (close) tabs on somebody/somethinginformalWATCH to watch someone or something carefully to check what they are doing The police have been keeping tabs on Rogers since he got out of prison. → tab
Examples from the Corpus
keep (close) tabs on somebody/something• They patrol land and keep tabs on the gangs after tip offs from gamekeepers and farmers.• Anne Dickson, a local politician, said people had been keeping tabs on Hamilton for years.• About the world Lenny Wilkens has been keeping tabs on world events, and one thing is clear.• He keeps tabs on everyone in the building.• We try to keep close tabs on our boys in blue.• If she asked, he would accuse her of nagging, of wanting to keep tabs on him.• Although so little was heard from them, those who kept tabs on them were convinced that they were slowly fading away.• A psychologist will keep tabs on teams of youngsters and will stop the operation if they show signs of stress.• But trappers will keep tabs on the extra traps until February, officials said. 