withhold
UK/wɪθˈhəʊld//wɪθˈhoʊld/
withhold verb: to keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner.
Verb
withhold (third-person singular simple present withholds, present participle withholding, simple past withheld, past participle withheld or (rare, archaic) withholden)
- To keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner.
- The bank withheld her credit card.
- Us if he ſhall hear novv, hovv much leſs vvill he hear vvhen vve cry hereafter, vvho once deliver'd by him from a King, and not vvithout vvondrous Acts of his Providence, inſenſible and unvvorthy of thoſe high Mercies, are returning precipitantly, if he vvithold us not, back to the Captivity from...1660 February, John Milton, The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth, and the Excellence thereof, Compar’d with the Inconveniencies and Dangers of Readmitting Kingship in this Nation...
- Synonyms:
- retain
- To keep (information, assent, etc.) to oneself rather than revealing it.
- withhold vital information
- a withheld phone number
- To stay back, to refrain.
- I’ll withhold from asking about it.
- Do you wish to proceed with those down the line in that order? […] We’ll withhold for now.1971 October 26, William J. Randall, Hearings Before the Special Committee on the Utilization of Manpower in the Military […] House of Representatives, Ninety-Second Congress, First and Second...
Noun
withhold (plural withholds)
- An immoral action or condition (an overt) that has not been disclosed to others; the consciousness of such an action or condition.
- I was afraid to go into review for the help I needed because of the withholds I had against the organization, withholds acquired at the franchise: our late evening discussions, our kidding around at the expense of other Scientologists.1972, Robert Kaufman, Inside Scientology: How I Joined Scientology and Became Superhuman, →ISBN, page 150
- Dianetics is concerned with purifying the individual of negative emotions, evil spirits, overts, and withholds.1976, Nathaniel Lande, Mindstyles, Lifestyles, →ISBN, page 133
withhold meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
withhold in Tamil
- கொடுக்க மறு, கொடுக்காது நிறுத்து, செயல்படுத்தாதலிரு, தடுத்து நிறுத்து, நிறுத்திவை
withhold in Urdu
- روکے رکھنا, واپس نہ کرنا
withhold in Malayalam
- കൊടുക്കാതിരിക്കുക, പിടിച്ചുവയ്ക്കുക, തടസ്സപ്പെടുത്തുക
withhold in Kannada
- ತಡೆಹಿಡಿ, ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸು, ಬಿಗಿಹಿಡಿ, ಕೊಡದಿರು, ಕೊಡಲು ನಿರಾಕರಿಸು
More languagesFewer languages
- withhold in Sanskrit
- वृक्ते vṛkte, हरति hárati
- withhold in Arabic
- إستئثار, اِحْتَفَظَ iḥtafaẓa, كتم
Examples of withhold in a sentence
- On the assumption that a vast majority of readers also enjoy writing, I could not withhold from asking the expert for some advice.2015 February 25, “My day at Malorie Blackman's book launch”, in The Guardian:
- Maria Goldberg, marketing director for Great Southern Restaurants, said The Fish House in Pensacola, so far, has been able to withhold from raising menu prices.2022 January 10, Brittany Misencik, “Pensacola seafood markets face no-win choice amid pandemic: Raise prices or cut stock”, in Pensacola...
Synonyms of withhold
Forms of withhold
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | withholds |
| present participle | withholding |
| past | withheld |
| past participle | withheld |
| past participle (archaic, rare) | withholden |
| alternative form (obsolete) | with-hold |
| Noun | |
| plural | withholds |
Origin of withhold
From Middle English withholden. Equivalent to with- + hold.
Words formed from withhold
Words that rhyme with withhold
Questions about withhold
- What does withhold mean?
- Withhold means to keep (a physical object that one has obtained) to oneself rather than giving it back to its owner.
- What is withhold in Tamil?
- Withhold in Tamil is கொடுக்க மறு, கொடுக்காது நிறுத்து, செயல்படுத்தாதலிரு. See Withhold meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use withhold in a sentence?
- On the assumption that a vast majority of readers also enjoy writing, I could not withhold from asking the expert for some advice.
- What part of speech is withhold?
- Withhold can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce withhold?
- Withhold is pronounced /wɪθˈhəʊld/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of withhold?
- The past tense of withhold is withheld.
Words near withhold in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: withhold (page history and authors); withhold (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); withhold (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); withhold (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); withhold (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); वृक्ते (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-withhold.ogg, en-au-withhold.ogg.
Cite this entry: “withhold.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/withhold. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.