keep one's distance vs be

keep one's distance and be both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
keep one's distance	No	No	Yes	No
be	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, be is a hypernym of keep one's distance; that is, be is a word with a broader meaning than keep one's distance:

keep one's distance (verb)	be (verb)
stay clear of, avoid	spend or use time
	work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a specific function
	have an existence, be extant
	have life, be alive
	form or compose
	have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)
	occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere
	be identical to; be someone or something
	be identical or equivalent to
	represent, as of a character on stage
	be priced at
	to remain unmolested, undisturbed, or uninterrupted -- used only in infinitive form