hold

Plural: holds

Noun

• the act of grasping
  • "she kept a firm hold on the railing"
• understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something
• power by which something or someone is affected or dominated
  • "he has a hold over them"
• time during which some action is awaited
  • "he ordered a hold in the action"
• a state of being confined (usually for a short time)
  • "the prisoner is on hold"
• a stronghold
• a cell in a jail or prison
• the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it
• the space in a ship or aircraft for storing cargo
• A grasp or grip.
• An act or instance of holding.
• A place where animals are held for safety
• An order that something is to be reserved or delayed, limiting or preventing how it can be dealt with.
• Something reserved or kept.
• Power over someone or something.
• The ability to persist.
• The property of maintaining the shape of styled hair.
• A position or grip used to control the opponent.
• An exercise involving holding a position for a set time
• The percentage the house wins on a gamble, the house or bookmaker's hold.
• The wager amount, the total hold.
• An instance of holding one's service game, as opposed to being broken.
• The part of an object one is intended to grasp, or anything one can use for grasping with hands or feet.
• A fruit machine feature allowing one or more of the reels to remain fixed while the others spin.
• A pause facility.
• The queueing system on telephones and similar communication systems which maintains a connection when all lines are busy.
• 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.
• A region of airspace reserved for aircraft being kept in a holding pattern.
• The cargo area of a ship or aircraft (often holds or cargo hold).

Verb

Verb Forms: held, holden, holding, holds

• To keep possession of; to maintain or sustain.
• keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g.,
  • "hold in place"
• have or hold in one's hands or grip
  • "Hold this bowl for a moment, please"
  • "A crazy idea took hold of him"
• organize or be responsible for
  • "hold a reception"
• have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense
  • "She holds a Master's degree from Harvard"
• keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view
  • "hold these truths to be self-evident"
  • "I hold him personally responsible"
• maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings)
• to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement
  • "This holds the local until the express passengers change trains"
• secure and keep for possible future use or application
• have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices
• be the physical support of; carry the weight of
  • "The beam holds up the roof"
  • "What's holding that mirror?"
• contain or hold; have within
  • "The canteen holds fresh water"
• have room for; hold without crowding
  • "The auditorium can't hold more than 500 people"
• remain in a certain state, position, or condition
• support or hold in a certain manner
  • "She holds her head high"
• be valid, applicable, or true
  • "This theory still holds"
• assert or affirm
  • "Rousseau's philosophy holds that people are inherently good"
• have as a major characteristic
  • "The novel holds many surprises"
  • "The book holds in store much valuable advise"
• be capable of holding or containing
  • "The flask holds one gallon"
• arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance
  • "please hold a table at Maxim's"
• protect against a challenge or attack
  • "Hold that position behind the trees!"
  • "Hold the bridge against the enemy's attacks"
• bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted
  • "I'll hold you by your promise"
• hold the attention of
  • "She can hold an audience spellbound"
• remain committed to
  • "I hold to these ideas"
• resist or confront with resistance
• be pertinent or relevant or applicable
  • "This theory holds for all irrational numbers"
• stop dealing with
  • "hold all calls to the President's office while he is in a meeting"
• lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits
  • "hold your tongue"
  • "hold your temper"
• keep from departing
  • "Hold the taxi"
  • "Hold the horse"
• take and maintain control over, often by violent means
• cause to stop
• cover as for protection against noise or smell
  • "hold one's nose"
• drink alcohol without showing ill effects
  • "He can hold his liquor"
• aim, point, or direct
  • "Hold the fire extinguisher directly on the flames"
• declare to be
• be in accord; be in agreement
  • "I hold with those who say life is sacred"
• keep from exhaling or expelling
  • "hold your breath"
• To grasp or grip.
• To contain or store.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• To have and keep possession of something.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• To reserve.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• To cause to wait or delay.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• To detain.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• To be or remain valid; to apply (usually in the third person).
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• To keep oneself in a particular state.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• To bear, carry, or manage.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• Not to move; to halt; to stop.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued.
• To maintain or keep to a position or state.
• To remain continent; to control an excretory bodily function.
• To maintain or keep to particular opinions, promises, actions.
• To maintain, to consider, to opine.
• To maintain or keep to particular opinions, promises, actions.
• To bind (someone) to a consequence of his or her actions.
• To maintain or keep to particular opinions, promises, actions.
• To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain.
• To maintain or keep to particular opinions, promises, actions.
• To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain.
• To maintain or keep to particular opinions, promises, actions.
• To restrain oneself; to refrain; to hold back.
• To win one's own service game.
• To take place, to occur.
• To organise an event or meeting (usually in passive voice).
• To derive right or title.
• In a food or drink order at an informal restaurant etc., requesting that a component normally included in that order be omitted.
• To be in possession of illicit drugs for sale.

Adj

• Gracious; friendly; faithful; true.

Examples

• A martini, please, and hold the olive.
• Can I have a hold of the baby?
• Elections will be held on the first Sunday of next month.
• He got him in a tight hold and pinned him to the mat.
• He holds himself proudly erect.
• He was held responsible for the actions of those under his command.
• Hold a table for us at 7:00.
• Hold my coat for me.
• Hold the elevator.
• Hold the pencil like this.
• Hold the suspect in this cell.
• Hold your head high.
• I'll hold him to that promise.
• It’s important to HOLD onto valuable letters until the perfect moment to play them.
• Keep a firm hold on the handlebars.
• One ham-and-cheese sandwich; hold the mustard.
• Senator X placed a hold on the bill, then went to the library and placed a hold on a book.
• 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.
• The general ordered the colonel to hold his position at all costs.
• The House Hold on the game is 10,000, this is the amount of decision or risk the house wishes to assume.
• The proposition holds.
• This package holds six bottles.
• to hold firm
• to hold one's bladder
• to hold one's breath
• to hold true
• We have a hold here for you.
• We watched our luggage being loaded into the hold of the plane.

Synonyms

accommodate, adjudge, admit, agree, apply, appreciation, arrest, bear, bind, book, cargo area, cargo deck, cargo hold, carry, check, clasp, clench, clutch, clutches, concord, concur, confine, contain, control, curb, custody, declare, deem, defend, defy, delay, detainment, detention, entertain, give, go for, grasp, grip, guard, halt, handgrip, handle, harbor, harbour, have, have got, hold back, hold in, hold up, keep, keep back, maintain, make, moderate, nurse, obligate, oblige, obtain, postponement, prevail, reserve, restrain, retain, storage area, support, sustain, take, take for, take hold, throw, time lag, view as, wait, withstand, beclasp, begrasp, begrip, belock, clinch, cling, enclasp, fang, fondle, glaum, grab, grabble, hang on, happen, have it#Verb, hold, hold on, hold tight, nab, nim, own, seize, stranglehold

Antonyms

disagree, let go of, release

Related Words

behold, HOLDABLE

Anagrams of hold