- hold
- I [[t]ho͟ʊld[/t]]
PHYSICALLY TOUCHING, SUPPORTING, OR CONTAINING
♦1) VERB When you hold something, you carry or support it, using your hands or your arms.
[V n prep/adv] Hold the knife at an angle...
[V n] She is holding her journal and a pen...
[V n] He held the pistol in his right hand...
[V n] Hold the baby while I load the car.
N-COUNT: usu singHold is also a noun.He released his hold on the camera.
2) N-UNCOUNT: N of n Hold is used in expressions such as grab hold of, catch hold of, and get hold of, to indicate that you close your hand tightly around something, for example to stop something moving or falling.I was woken up by someone grabbing hold of my sleeping bag...
A doctor and a nurse caught hold of his arms...
Mother took hold of the barking dogs by their collars.
3) VERB When you hold someone, you put your arms round them, usually because you want to show them how much you like them or because you want to comfort them.[V n adv] If only he would hold her close to him. [Also V n]
4) VERB If you hold someone in a particular position, you use force to keep them in that position and stop them from moving.[V n prep] He then held the man in an armlock until police arrived...
[V n with adv] I'd got two nurses holding me down. [Also V n]
5) N-COUNT A hold is a particular way of keeping someone in a position using your own hands, arms, or legs....use of an unauthorized hold on a handcuffed suspect.
6) VERB When you hold a part of your body, you put your hand on or against it, often because it hurts.[V n] Soon she was crying bitterly about the pain and was holding her throat.
7) VERB When you hold a part of your body in a particular position, you put it into that position and keep it there.[V n prep/adv] Hold your hands in front of your face...
[V-ed] He walked at a rapid pace with his back straight and his head held erect. [Also V n adj]
8) VERB If one thing holds another in a particular position, it keeps it in that position.[V n with adv] ...the wooden wedge which held the heavy door open...
[V n prep] They used steel pins to hold everything in place.
9) VERB If one thing is used to hold another, it is used to store it.[V n] Two knife racks hold her favourite knives.
[V n] ...the large cardboard and wooden cases used to hold my new appliances.
Syn:10) N-COUNT: oft n N In a ship or aeroplane, a hold is a place where cargo or luggage is stored.A fire had been reported in the cargo hold.
11) VERB If a place holds something, it keeps it available for reference or for future use.[V n] The Small Firms Service holds an enormous amount of information on any business problem...
[V n] We have reviewed the data that we hold for the area.
12) VERB: no cont If something holds a particular amount of something, it can contain that amount.[V n] The small bottles don't seem to hold much...
[V n] One CD-ROM disk can hold over 100,000 pages of text.
13) VERB If you can hold your drink, you are able to drink large quantities of alcohol without becoming ill or getting drunk.[V n] ...but you had to be able to hold your liquor.
14) VERB If a vehicle holds the road well, it remains in close contact with the road and can be controlled safely and easily.[V n adv] I thought the car handled and held the road really well. [Also V n]
15) → See also holdingII [[t]ho͟ʊld[/t]] HAVING OR DOING♦(Hold is often used to indicate that someone or something has the particular thing, characteristic, or attitude that is mentioned. Therefore it takes most of its meaning from the word that follows it.)1) VERB: no cont Hold is used with words and expressions indicating an opinion or belief, to show that someone has a particular opinion or believes that something is true.[V n] He held firm opinions which usually conflicted with my own...
[V n] He holds certain expectations about the teacher's role...
[V that] Current thinking holds that obesity is more a medical than a psychological problem...
[V n in n] The public, meanwhile, hold architects in low esteem.
[V-ed] ...a widely held opinion.
2) VERB: no passive Hold is used with words such as `fear' or `mystery' to indicate someone's feelings towards something, as if those feelings were a characteristic of the thing itself.[V n for n] Death doesn't hold any fear for me...
[V n] It held more mystery than even the darkest jungle...
[V n] This approach, more than any other, holds promise for true reform.
3) VERB Hold is used with nouns such as `office', `power', and `responsibility' to indicate that someone has a particular position of power or authority.[V n] She has never held ministerial office...
[V n] I'd seen it before in people who held immense power.
Syn:4) VERB Hold is used with nouns such as `permit', `degree', or `ticket' to indicate that someone has a particular document that allows them to do something.[V n] Applicants should normally hold a good Honours degree...
[V n] He did not hold a firearm certificate...
[V n] Passengers holding tickets will receive refunds.
5) VERB Hold is used with nouns such as `party', `meeting', `talks', `election', and `trial' to indicate that people are organizing a particular activity.[V n] The country will hold democratic elections within a year...
[V n] The German sports federation said it would hold an investigation.
[V n] ...the club, which was licensed to hold parties.
Derived words:6) V-RECIP Hold is used with nouns such as `conversation', `interview', and `talks' to indicate that two or more people meet and discuss something.[V n with n] The Prime Minister, is holding consultations with his colleagues to finalise the deal...
[pl-n V] The engineer and his son held frequent consultations concerning technical problems...
[V n (non-recip)] They can't believe you can even hold a conversation.
7) VERB Hold is used with nouns such as `shares' and `stock' to indicate that someone owns a particular proportion of a business.[V n] The group said it continues to hold 1,774,687 Vons shares...
[V n] The Fisher family holds 40% of the stock.
8) VERB Hold is used with words such as `lead' or `advantage' to indicate that someone is winning or doing well in a contest.[V n] He continued to hold a lead in Angola's presidential race...
[V n] Mestel holds a slight advantage.
9) VERB Hold is used with nouns such as `attention' or `interest' to indicate that what you do or say keeps someone interested or listening to you.[V n] If you want to hold someone's attention, look them directly in the eye but don't stare...
[V n] Couldn't I hold Philippe's interest?
Syn:10) VERB If you hold someone responsible, liable, or accountable for something, you will blame them if anything goes wrong.[V n adj] It's impossible to hold any individual responsible.
[V n adj] ...shareholders who want to hold corporate directors more accountable for their actions.
11) → See also holdingIII [[t]ho͟ʊld[/t]] CONTROLLING OR REMAINING♦1) VERB If someone holds you in a place, they keep you there as a prisoner and do not allow you to leave.[V n] The inside of a van was as good a place as any to hold a kidnap victim...
[V n n] Somebody is holding your wife hostage...
[V-ed] Japan had originally demanded the return of two seamen held on spying charges.
2) VERB If people such as an army or a violent crowd hold a place, they control it by using force.[V n] Demonstrators have been holding the square since Sunday.
3) N-SING: usu N over/on n If you have a hold over someone, you have power or control over them, for example because you know something about them you can use to threaten them or because you are in a position of authority.It's always useful to have a hold over a fellow like Carl May...
He had ordered his officers to keep an exceptionally firm hold over their men...
Because he once loved her, she still has a hold on him.
4) VERB: no passive If you ask someone to hold, or to hold the line, when you are answering a telephone call, you are asking them to wait for a short time, for example so that you can find the person they want to speak to.[V n] Could you hold the line and I'll just get my pen...
A telephone operator asked him to hold.
Syn:5) VERB If you hold telephone calls for someone, you do not allow people who phone to speak to that person, but take messages instead.[V n] He tells his secretary to hold his calls.
6) V-ERG If something holds at a particular value or level, or is held there, it is kept at that value or level.[V prep/adv/adj] OPEC production is holding at around 21.5 million barrels a day...
[V prep/adv/adj] They were expecting the jobless rate to hold steady...
[V n with adv] The Prime Minister yesterday ruled out Government action to hold down petrol prices...
[V n prep/adj] The final dividend will be held at 20.7p, after an 8 per cent increase.
[V n] ...provided the pound holds its value against the deutschmark. [Also V]
7) VERB If you hold a sound or musical note, you continue making it.[V n] ...a voice which hit and held every note with perfect ease and clarity.
8) VERB If you hold something such as a train, a lift, or an elevator, you delay it.[V n] A London Underground spokesman defended the decision to hold the train until police arrived.
9) VERB If an offer or invitation still holds, it is still available for you to accept.Does your offer still hold?
10) VERB If a good situation holds, it continues and does not get worse or fail.Our luck couldn't hold for ever...
Would the weather hold?...
Will the ceasefire hold?
11) VERB If an argument or theory holds, it is true or valid, even after close examination.Today, most people think that argument no longer holds...
The theory could still hold.
12) VERB If part of a structure holds, it does not fall or break although there is a lot of force or pressure on it.How long would the roof hold?
13) VERB If laws and rules hold, they exist and remain in force.These laws also hold for universities.
14) VERB If you say that you hold to a particular opinion or belief, you are stating firmly that you continue to have that opinion or belief. [FORMAL][V to n] I hold to my belief that people should be allowed to have private lives...
[V to n] Would you still hold to that view?
15) VERB If you hold to a promise or to high standards of behaviour, you keep that promise or continue to behave according to those standards. [FORMAL][V to n] Will the President be able to hold to this commitment?...
[V to n] Not all men are as honorable or hold to the same standards as Sam.
[V to n] ...whether youngsters in a multicultural society can really be expected to hold to uniformity in their speech.
Syn:16) VERB If someone or something holds you to a promise or to high standards of behaviour, they make you keep that promise or those standards.[V n to n] I would say it's almost time to hold him to that promise...
[V n to n] Don't hold me to that...
[V n to n] It does hold you to certain standards of fairness.
17) → See also holdingIV [[t]ho͟ʊld[/t]] PHRASES♦(Please look at category 13 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.)1) PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR on n If you hold forth on a subject, you speak confidently and for a long time about it, especially to a group of people.Barry was holding forth on something.
2) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n If you get hold of an object or information, you obtain it, usually after some difficulty.It is hard to get hold of guns in this country.
3) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n If you get hold of a fact or a subject, you learn about it and understand it well. [BRIT, INFORMAL]He first had to get hold of some basic facts.
4) PHRASE: V inflects, PHR n If you get hold of someone, you manage to contact them.The only electrician we could get hold of was miles away.
5) CONVENTION If you say `Hold it', you are telling someone to stop what they are doing and to wait.Hold it! Don't move!
Syn:6) PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR If you put something on hold, you decide not to do it, deal with it, or change it now, but to leave it until later.He put his retirement on hold to work 16 hours a day, seven days a week to find a solution...
He described their foreign policy as on hold.
7) PHRASE: V inflects If you hold your own, you are able to resist someone who is attacking or opposing you.The Frenchman held his own against the challenger.
8) PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR against n If you can do something well enough to hold your own, you do not appear foolish when you are compared with someone who is generally thought to be very good at it.She can hold her own against almost any player.
9) PHRASE: V inflects If you hold still, you do not move.Can't you hold still for a second?
Syn:keep still10) PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR of n If something takes hold, it gains complete control or influence over a person or thing.She felt a strange excitement taking hold of her...
She was determined not to let the illness take hold again.
11) PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR prep If you hold tight you put your hand round or against something in order to prevent yourself from falling over. A bus driver might say `Hold tight!' to you if you are standing on a bus when it is about to move.He held tight to the rope...
Climb on to my back and hold tight.
Syn:12) PHRASE: V inflects If you hold tight, you do not immediately start a course of action that you have been planning or thinking about.V [[t]ho͟ʊld[/t]] PHRASAL VERBSThe unions have circulated their branches, urging members to hold tight until a national deal is struck.
♦Phrasal Verbs:- hold in- hold off- hold on- hold out- hold up
English dictionary. 2008.
