Word.ws English Dictionary

hold

UK/həʊld/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/hɔwld/

hold verb: to grasp or grip.

Verb

hold (third-person singular simple present holds, present participle holding, simple past held, past participle held or (archaic) holden)

  1. (transitive) To grasp or grip.
    • Hold the pencil like this.
    • But then I had the flintlock by me for protection. ¶ There were giants in the days when that gun was made; for surely no modern mortal could have held that mass of metal steady to his shoulder. The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus...1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC
  2. (transitive) To contain or store.
    • This package holds six bottles.
  3. (transitive) To have and keep possession of something.
    • Hold my coat for me.
    • The general ordered the colonel to hold his position at all costs.
    Synonyms:
    own, have, possess
  4. (transitive) To reserve.
    • Hold a table for us at 7:00.
  5. (transitive) To cause to wait or delay.
    • Hold the elevator.
  6. (transitive) To halt or delay (medication) temporarily.
    • Patients who test positive for COVID-19 infection should be advised to hold their biologic dose until their infection clears.2020 June, Nicholas D. Brownstone, Quinn G. Thibodeaux, Vidhatha D. Reddy, Bridget A. Myers, Stephanie Y. Chan, Tina Bhutani, Wilson Liao, “Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Biologic Therapy...
    Synonyms:
    withhold
  7. (transitive) To detain.
    • Hold the suspect in this cell.
  8. (copulative, intransitive) To be or remain valid; to apply (usually in the third person).
    • to hold true
    • The proposition holds.
  9. (copulative, intransitive) To keep oneself in a particular state.
    • to hold firm
    • Mother[…]considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on the conventional tip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and...1921, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC
  10. (transitive) To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.
    • We cannot hold mortality's strong hand.1623, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King John (Act iv, scene 2)
    • Death! what do'st? O, hold thy blow.1646, Richard Crashaw, Vpon the Death of Mr. Herrys
  11. (transitive) To bear, carry, or manage.
    • He holds himself proudly erect.
    • Hold your head high.
  12. (imperative, intransitive) Not to move; to halt; to stop.
    • Lay on, Macduff, and damned him that first cries hold, enough!1606, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Show 13 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (intransitive) Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued.
    • Our force by land hath nobly held.1623, William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra
    • The canvas was punctured by the little balls, but held.2015, Karl W Heffelfinger, Headlong Into Hell
  2. To remain continent; to control an excretory bodily function.
    • to hold one's bladder
    • to hold one's breath
  3. (transitive) To maintain, to consider, to opine.
    • She holds that passive index funds beat actively managed ones: she says that "set it and forget it," when done right, beats playing the market as a gambler.
    • He neuer hild but gracious thoughts of vvomen, yeat, I vvinne, / The fayreſt She he euer ſavv might quit his thoughts of ſinne.1602, William Warner, “The Seventh Booke. Chapter XXXVI.”, in Albions England. A Continued Historie of the Same Kingdome, from the Originals of the First Inhabitants thereof: […], 5th edition...
    Synonyms:
    have it
  4. (transitive) To bind (someone) to a consequence of his or her actions.
    • He was held responsible for the actions of those under his command.
    • I'll hold him to that promise.
  5. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain.
    • Hold not thy peace, and be not still.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 83:1
    • Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, / Shall hold their course.1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II
  6. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain.
    • Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Thessalonians 2:15
    • These reasons mov'd her starlike husband's heart, But still he held his purpose to depart:1700, Ovid (John Dryden), Ceyx and Alcyone
  7. (archaic) To restrain oneself; to refrain; to hold back.
    • His dauntless heart would fain have held / From weeping, but his eyes rebelled.1685, John Dryden, Threnodia Augustalis: A Funeral Pindaric Poem
  8. (ambitransitive) To win one's own service game.
  9. To take place, to occur.
    • He came into the hall where the wedding-festival had held […].1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Oxford, published 2010, page 9
    Synonyms:
    bechance, befall, behap, belimp, betide, betime, beworth, chance, come about, come to pass
  10. To organise an event or meeting (usually in passive voice).
    • Elections will be held on the first Sunday of next month.
    • Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen...1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
  11. (archaic) To derive right or title.
    • My Crovvn is abſolute, and holds of none.1665 (first performance), John Dryden, The Indian Emperour, or, The Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman […], published 1667, →OCLC, Act I...
    • His imagination holds immediately from nature.1817, William Hazlitt, The Round Table
  12. (imperative) In a food or drink order at an informal restaurant etc., requesting that a component normally included in that order be omitted.
    • One ham-and-cheese sandwich; hold the mustard.
    • A martini, please, and hold the olive.
  13. (intransitive, slang) To be in possession of illicit drugs for sale.
    • […] first thing clients would say to me would be 'Are you holding?' I'd say yes if we had our supply and no if it was dangerous.1933, Goat Laven, Rough Stuff: The Life Story of a Gangster, page 122

Noun (1)

hold (plural holds)

  1. A grasp or grip.
    • Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
    • Keep a firm hold on the handlebars.
  2. An act or instance of holding.
    • Can I have a hold of the baby?
  3. A place where animals are held for safety
  4. An order that something is to be reserved or delayed, limiting or preventing how it can be dealt with.
    • Senator X placed a hold on the bill, then went to the library and placed a hold on a book.
    • Because there were no “launch commit criteria” regarding surface booster temperatures that might cause a hold on the launch, the ice team did not report the temperatures to the launch controllers.2008, R. Michael Gordon, The Space Shuttle Program: How NASA Lost Its Way, page 98
  5. Something reserved or kept.
    • We have a hold here for you.
  6. Power over someone or something.
    • The fad has gained a sure hold on every teenager.
    • The Judge accepts the payment, the law no longer has a hold on you, and therefore you are free to walk out of the court a free man or woman.2008, Christopher Clarke-Milton, Dawn of the Messiah - Book 1, →ISBN, page 199
  7. The ability to persist.
    • This year I slept and woke with pain,
      ⁠I almost wish’d no more to wake,
      ⁠And that my hold on life would break
      Before I heard those bells again: […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVIII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 45
    • Despite their seemingly strong hold on life, as indicated by the persistence of movement in decapitation tests, rattlers are relatively frail creatures and are easily killed.1982, Laurence Monroe Klauber, Karen Harvey McClung, Rattlesnakes, Their Habits, Life Histories, and Influence, →ISBN, page 48
  8. The property of maintaining the shape of styled hair.
    • Sculpturing gels provide stiffer hold than styling gels, which provide better hold than mousses.2004, Zoe Diana Draelos, Hair Care: An Illustrated Dermatologic Handbook, page 221
  9. (self-defense) A position or grip used to control the opponent.
    • He got him in a tight hold and pinned him to the mat.
  10. An exercise involving holding a position for a set time
  11. The percentage the house wins on a gamble, the house or bookmaker's hold.
    • The House Hold on the game is 10,000, this is the amount of decision or risk the house wishes to assume.
  12. The wager amount, the total hold.
    • As of Monday night the total Melbourne Cup hold was $848,015
Show 7 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. An instance of holding one's service game, as opposed to being broken.
  2. The part of an object one is intended to grasp, or anything one can use for grasping with hands or feet.
    • So I felt my way down the passage back to the vault, and recked not of the darkness, nor of Blackbeard and his crew, if only I could lay my lips to liquor. Thus I groped about the barrels till near the top of the stack my hand struck on the spile of a keg, and drawing it, I got my mouth to the hold.[1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC
    • The beginner will instinctively try to stick his toe straight in in a foot hold, which is very tiring on the calf muscles.1995, Turlough Johnston, Madeleine Halldén, Rock Climbing Basics, →ISBN, page 86
  3. A fruit machine feature allowing one or more of the reels to remain fixed while the others spin.
  4. (dated) A pause facility.
    • A hold facility is available; H holds, and S restarts.1983, New Generation Software, Knot in 3D (video game instruction leaflet)
    • SCREEN 5 — Perhaps the toughest — going like the clappers sometimes works but generally you'll have to be smarter than that. If things get a little too hectic and you don't even have time to reach the HOLD key, try taking a short rest below the top of the stairs.1987?, Imagine Software, Legend of Kage (video game instruction leaflet)
  5. The queueing system on telephones and similar communication systems which maintains a connection when all lines are busy.
    • Given that there is an average on-hold time of more than five minutes while enquiries are being dealt with, the telephone hold system provided the best opportunity.2003, Daniel Jackson, Paul Fulberg, Sonic Branding: An Essential Guide to the Art and Science of Sonic Branding, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 6
    • Even the "on-hold" messages on Southwest's telephone system are humorous, ensuring anyone inconvenienced by the hold is entertained.2005, Lorraine Grubbs-West, Lessons in Loyalty: How Southwest Airlines Does it : an Insider's View, CornerStone Leadership Inst, →ISBN, page 56
  6. A statistic awarded to a relief pitcher who is not still pitching at the end of the game and who records at least one out and maintains a lead for his team.
  7. A region of airspace reserved for aircraft being kept in a holding pattern.

Noun (2)

hold (plural holds)

  1. The cargo area of a ship or aircraft (often holds or cargo hold).
    • We watched our luggage being loaded into the hold of the plane.

Adjective

hold (comparative more hold, superlative most hold)

  1. (obsolete) Gracious; friendly; faithful; true.
    • at the proper moment, I stepped forward with a gay heart and a hold one1854, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Passages from a Relinquished Work”, in Mosses from an Old Manse

hold meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

hold in Hindi

to keep possession — see also sustain, protect
रखना rakhnā
to grasp
पकड़ना pakaṛnā, धरना dharnā
to contain — see also contain
समाविष्ट samāviṣṭ, बाँधना bāndhnā, रोकना roknā

hold in Tamil

to grasp
பிடி piṭi
to organise an event or meeting — see also take place, celebrate, realize, carry out, sustain
நடத்து naṭattu

hold in Marathi

to grasp
पकडणे pakaḍṇe

hold in Urdu

to grasp
پکڑنا pakaṛnā
More languagesFewer languages
hold in Bengali
ধরা dhora, রাখা rakha, মনে করা mone kora
hold in Telugu
ఉంచు uñcu, భధ్రించు bhadhriñcu, పట్టు paṭṭu, పెట్టు peṭṭu
hold in Malayalam
പിടിക്കുക piṭikkuka, പിടി piṭi
hold in Kannada
ಹಿಡಿತ hiḍita
hold in Punjabi
ਫ਼ੜ faṛ
hold in Gujarati
પકડવું pakaṛvũ
hold in Odia
ଧରିବା dharibā
hold in Sanskrit
धरति dhárati, धृ dhṛ, दध् dadh, मल् mal
hold in Sinhala
අල්ලනවා allanawā
hold in Nepali
लिनु linu, पक्डिनु pakḍinu
hold in Tagalog
humawak, hawakan, tumangan, tangnan
hold in Arabic
مَسَكَ masaka, مسك misik
hold in Malay
memegang
hold in Indonesian
memegang, ruang muatan
hold in Persian
نگه داشتن negah dâštan
hold in Thai
ถือ tʉ̌ʉ
hold in Vietnamese
giữ, cầm, nắm, chứa
hold in Myanmar
ကိုင် kuing

Examples of hold in a sentence

  • He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
  • She was Nicolas Sarkozy's pin-up for diversity, the first Muslim woman with north African parents to hold a major French government post.2011 December 14, Angelique Chrisafis, “Rachida Dati accuses French PM of sexism and elitism”, in Guardian:
  • The rule holds in land as well as all other commodities.1691, [John Locke], Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, and Raising the Value of Money. […], London: […]...
  • Free speech is a basic human right that holds even during a state of emergency.2021 July 20, Masayuki Yuda, “Foodpanda faces backlash after calling Thai protest 'terrorism'”, in Nikkei Asia, Nikkei Inc, retrieved 20...

All 40 example sentences with hold

Synonyms of hold

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of hold

Forms of hold

Verb
third-person singular presentholds
present participleholding
pastheld
past participleheld
past participle (archaic)holden
Noun
pluralholds
Adjective
comparativemore hold
superlativemost hold

Past tense of hold: held

Plural of hold: holds

Origin of hold

Derived from Middle English holden, derived from Old English healdan, derived from Proto-West Germanic *haldan, derived from Proto-Germanic *haldaną (“to tend, herd”), maybe derived from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to drive”). Doublet of halt. Cognates *West Frisian hâlde *Low German holden, holen *Dutch houden *German halten *Danish *Norwegian Bokmål holde *Norwegian Nynorsk halda. Compare Latin celer (“quick”), Tocharian B käl- (“to goad, drive”), Ancient Greek κέλλω (kéllō, “to drive”), Sanskrit कलयति (kalayati, “to impel”).

Alteration (due to hold) of hole. Cognate with Dutch hol (“hole, cave, den, cavity, cargo hold”), Dutch holte (“cavity, hollow, den”).

From Middle English hold, holde, from Old English hold (“gracious, friendly, kind”), from Proto-West Germanic *holþ, from Proto-Germanic *hulþaz (“favourable, gracious, loyal”), from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to tend, incline, bend, tip”). Cognate with German hold (“gracious, friendly, sympathetic, grateful”), Danish and Swedish huld (“fair, kindly, gracious”), Icelandic hollur (“faithful, dedicated, loyal”), German Huld (“grace, favour”).

Words formed from hold

Phrases with hold

119 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with hold

30 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about hold

What does hold mean?
Hold means to grasp or grip.
What is hold in Hindi?
Hold in Hindi is रखना (rakhnā), पकड़ना (pakaṛnā), धरना (dharnā). See Hold meaning in Hindi.
How do you use hold in a sentence?
He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.
What part of speech is hold?
Hold can be a verb, a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce hold?
Hold is pronounced /həʊld/ (UK).
What is the past tense of hold?
The past tense of hold is held.

Words near hold in the dictionary

  1. Holcombes
  2. holcorpid
  3. holcorpids
  4. Holcroft
  5. Holcrofts
  6. hold
  7. Hold 'em
  8. hold a candle
  9. hold a candle for
  10. hold a grudge
  11. hold a gun to someone's head

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hold (page history and authors); પકડવું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); दध् (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-hold.ogg.

Cite this entry: “hold.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hold. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.