hold

hold¹

verb (past and past participle held)

1》 grasp, carry, or support.

2》 keep in a specified position: I held the door open for him.

    ↘remain secure or intact: the boat's anchor would not hold.

3》 keep or detain.

    ↘have in one's possession.

    ↘have or occupy (a job or position).

    ↘(in sport) manage to achieve a draw against.

    ↘have in store: I don't know what the future holds.

4》 continue to follow (a course).

    ↘stay or cause to stay at a certain value or level.

    ↘(hold to) refuse to abandon or change (a principle).

    ↘(hold someone to) cause someone to adhere to (a commitment).

    ↘be or remain valid or available: I'll have that coffee now, if the offer still holds.

5》 contain or be capable of containing.

    ↘be able to drink (a reasonable amount of alcohol) without suffering ill effects.

6》 have (a belief or opinion).

    ↘(hold someone/thing in) regard someone or something with (a specified feeling): the speed limit is held in contempt.

    ↘consider to be responsible for a situation.

    ↘(of a judge or court) rule; decide: the Court held that the public sector was covered by the directive.

7》 keep or reserve.

    ↘maintain (a telephone connection).

8》 prevent from going ahead or occurring.

    ↘N. Amer. informal refrain from adding or using.

    ↘(hold it) informal wait or stop doing something.

9》 arrange and take part in (a meeting or conversation).

noun

1》 a grip.

2》 a handhold.

3》 a degree of power or control.

Phrases

be left holding the baby (or N. Amer. bag) informal be left with an unwelcome responsibility.

get hold of grasp.

↘informal find or contact.

hold court be the centre of attention.

hold something dear value something greatly.

hold fast remain tightly secured.

↘continue to adhere to a principle.

hold the fort take responsibility for something temporarily.

hold good (or true) remain true or valid.

hold hard Brit. stop or wait.

hold someone/thing harmless Law indemnify someone or something.

hold one's horses informal wait a moment.

hold the line not yield to pressure.

hold someone to bail Law bind someone by bail.

hold one's tongue informal remain silent.

hold water (of a theory) appear sound.

no holds barred

1》 (in wrestling) with no restrictions on the kinds of holds that are used.

2》 without rules or restrictions.

on hold

1》 waiting to be connected by telephone.

2》 left pending.

take hold start to have an effect.

Phrasal verbs

hold something against allow past events to have a negative influence on one's present attitude towards.

hold back hesitate.

hold something down informal succeed in keeping a job.

hold forth talk at length or tediously.

hold off (of bad weather) fail to occur.

hold someone/thing off resist an attacker or challenge.

↘postpone an action or decision.

hold on

1》 wait; stop.

2》 keep going in difficult circumstances.

hold out

1》 resist difficult circumstances.

2》 continue to be sufficient.

hold out for continue to demand.

hold out on informal refuse to give information to.

hold something over

1》 postpone something.

2》 use information to threaten.

hold up remain strong or vigorous.

hold someone/thing up

1》 delay the progress of someone or something.

2》 rob someone using the threat of violence.

3》 present someone or something as an example.

hold with [with negative] informal approve of.

Derivatives

holdable adjective

holder noun

Origin

OE haldan, healdan, of Gmc origin.

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hold²

noun a storage space in the lower part of a ship or aircraft.

Origin

C16: from obs. holl, from OE hol (see hole); the -d was added by assoc. with hold¹.