hold hard

hold hard verb: to stubbornly resist assault, pressure or opposition, either physically or mentally.

Verb (1)

hold hard (third-person singular simple present holds hard, present participle holding hard, simple past and past participle held hard)

(figuratively, idiomatic) To stubbornly resist assault, pressure or opposition, either physically or mentally.
- I would sooner walk in the dark, and hold hard to a promise of my God, than trust in the light of the brightest day that ever dawned.1881 (Feb 6), Charles Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Volume 27, Sermon on Galatians 5:22
- You must hold hard to life and do it. But life is a cheap thing beside a man's work. The only thing is that you need it. Hold it tight.1970, Ernest Hemingway, Islands in the Stream
Synonyms:

hold fast, hold firm, hold one's ground, stand firm, stand fast, stand one's ground

Antonyms:

let go, leave go, leave hold
(literal) A formal command to a ship's crew to grasp and hold on to a solid fitting, such as ropes or rails, to avoid being swept overboard, especially during a storm.
- All hands...hold hard!
- They were all on the bridge when the real force of the hurricane struck the ship. He had no idea where they had crawled to. Under the circumstances they were nowhere, for all the use that could be made of them. Somehow the Captain's wish to know distressed Jukes. "Want the hands, sir?" he cried...1902, Joseph Conrad, Typhoon
Synonyms:

hold fast

Verb (2)

hold hard (third-person singular simple present holds hard, present participle holding hard, simple past and past participle held hard)

(UK, dated, figuratively, imperative, often, Rhode Island) To stop suddenly and remain still.
- Hold hard: here come the sheep.

Synonyms of hold hard

Antonyms

let go
leave go
leave hold

Forms of hold hard

third-person singular present	holds hard
present participle	holding hard
past participle	held hard
past	held hard

Origin of hold hard

A verbal phrase composed of the words: hold ("grasp", "grip") and hard ("resistantly", "resolutely", "solidly", "steadfastly").

A verbal phrase composed of the words: hold ("maintain or keep to a position or state") and hard ("resolutely", "steadfastly"). Originally an expression used in riding or driving, now general.

Questions about hold hard

What does hold hard mean?: Hold hard means to stubbornly resist assault, pressure or opposition, either physically or mentally.
What part of speech is hold hard?: Hold hard is a verb.
What is the past tense of hold hard?: The past tense of hold hard is held hard.

Words near hold hard in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: hold hard (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: 2026-09-02

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