hold up

hold up
1) PHRASAL VERB If you hold up your hand or something you have in your hand, you move it upwards into a particular position and keep it there.

[V P n (not pron)] She held up her hand stiffly...

[V n P] Hold it up so that we can see it.

2) PHRASAL VERB If one thing holds up another, it is placed under the other thing in order to support it and prevent it from falling.

[V P n (not pron)] Mills have iron pillars all over the place holding up the roof...

[V n P] Her legs wouldn't hold her up.

3) PHRASAL VERB To hold up a person or process means to make them late or delay them.

[V n P] Why were you holding everyone up?...

[V P n (not pron)] Continuing violence could hold up progress towards reform.

Syn:
4) PHRASAL VERB If someone holds up a place such as a bank or a shop, they point a weapon at someone there to make them give them money or valuable goods.

[V P n (not pron)] A thief ran off with hundreds of pounds yesterday after holding up a petrol station. [Also V n P]

Syn:
5) PHRASAL VERB If you hold up something such as someone's behaviour, you make it known to other people, so that they can criticize or praise it.

[V n P to n] She said the picture that had appeared in a Sunday newspaper had held her up to ridicule...

[be V-ed P as n] He had always been held up as an example to the younger ones. [Also V n P as n]

6) PHRASAL VERB If something such as a type of business holds up in difficult conditions, it stays in a reasonably good state.

[V P] Children's wear is one area that is holding up well in the recession.

7) PHRASAL VERB If an argument or theory holds up, it is true or valid, even after close examination.

I'm not sure if the argument holds up, but it's stimulating.

8) → See also hold-up

English dictionary. 2008.

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  • Hold up — Hold Hold, v. i. In general, to keep one s self in a given position or condition; to remain fixed. Hence: [1913 Webster] 1. Not to move; to halt; to stop; mostly in the imperative. [1913 Webster] And damned be him that first cries, Hold, enough!… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Hold — (h[=o]ld), n. 1. The act of holding, as in or with the hands or arms; the manner of holding, whether firm or loose; seizure; grasp; clasp; grip; possession; often used with the verbs take and lay. [1913 Webster] Ne have I not twelve pence within… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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