English Dictionary

Definition of “hold”

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1hold1 (həʊldPronunciation for hold1) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: holds, holding, held, hɛld
  1. to have or keep (an object) with or within the hands, arms, etc; clasp
  2. (tr) to support or bear  ⇒ to hold a drowning man's head above water 
  3. to maintain or be maintained in a specified state or condition  ⇒ to hold one's emotions in check hold firm 
  4. (tr) to set aside or reserve  ⇒ they will hold our tickets until tomorrow 
  5. (when intr, usually used in commands) to restrain or be restrained from motion, action, departure, etc  ⇒ hold that man until the police come 
  6. (intr) to remain fast or unbroken  ⇒ that cable won't hold much longer 
  7. (intr) (of the weather) to remain dry and bright  ⇒ how long will the weather hold? 
  8. (tr) to keep the attention of  ⇒ her singing held the audience 
  9. (tr) to engage in or carry on  ⇒ to hold a meeting 
  10. (tr) to have the ownership, possession, etc, of  ⇒ he holds a law degree from London who's holding the ace of spades? 
  11. (tr) to have the use of or responsibility for  ⇒ to hold the office of director 
  12. (tr) to have the space or capacity for  ⇒ the carton will hold only eight books 
  13. (tr) to be able to control the outward effects of drinking beer, spirits, etc  ⇒ he can hold his drink well 
  14. to or by to remain or cause to remain committed to  ⇒ hold him to his promise he held by his views in spite of opposition 
  15. (tr; takes a clause as object) to claim  ⇒ he holds that the theory is incorrect 
  16. (intr) to remain relevant, valid, or true  ⇒ the old philosophies don't hold nowadays 
  17. (tr) to keep in the mind  ⇒ to hold affection for someone 
  18. (tr) to regard or consider in a specified manner  ⇒ I hold him very dear 
  19. (tr) to guard or defend successfully  ⇒ hold the fort against the attack 
  20. (intr) to continue to go  ⇒ hold on one's way 
  21. (sometimes foll by on) music to sustain the sound of (a note) throughout its specified duration  ⇒ to hold on a semibreve for its full value 
  22. (tr) computing to retain (data) in a storage device after copying onto another storage device or onto another location in the same device Compare clear (sense 49)
  23. (tr) to be in possession of illegal drugs
  24. See hold for
  25. See holding thumbs
  26. See hold it!
  27. See hold one's head high
  28. See hold one's own
  29. See hold one's peace
  30. See hold water
  31. See there is no holding him

noun

  1. the act or method of holding fast or grasping, as with the hands
  2. something to hold onto, as for support or control
  3. an object or device that holds fast or grips something else so as to hold it fast
  4. controlling force or influence  ⇒ she has a hold on him 
  5. a short delay or pause
  6. a prison or a cell in a prison
  7. wrestling a way of seizing one's opponent  ⇒ a wrist hold 
  8. music a pause or fermata
    1. a tenure or holding, esp of land
    2. ((in combination)  ⇒ leasehold freehold copyhold 
  10. a container
  11. archaic a fortified place
  12. See get hold of
  13. See no holds barred
  14. See on hold

See also

hold back , hold down , hold forth , hold in , hold off , hold on , hold out , hold over , hold together , hold-up , hold with

Alternative Forms

ˈholdable adjective

Word Origin

Old English healdan;  related to Old Norse halla,  Gothic haldan,  German halten

2hold2 (həʊldPronunciation for hold2) 

Definitions

noun

  1. the space in a ship or aircraft for storing cargo

Word Origin

C16: variant of hole

Translations

  • British English: hold Pronunciation for hold When you hold something, you have it in your hands or your arms.She held the baby in her arms.həʊld VERB She held the baby in her arms.
  • Spanish: sujetar Pronunciation for sujetar v
  • French: tenir Pronunciation for tenir vt
  • German: halten Pronunciation for halten v
  • Chinese: 持有Pronunciation for 持有 vt
  • Arabic: يـُمْسِكُ بPronunciation for يـُمْسِكُ ب vt
  • Portuguese: segurarPronunciation for segurar vt
  • Russian: держатьPronunciation for держать vt
  • Croatian: držatiPronunciation for držati v
  • Czech: podržetPronunciation for podržet vt držet
  • Danish: holdePronunciation for holde v
  • Dutch: vasthoudenPronunciation for vasthouden vt
  • Finnish: pidelläPronunciation for pidellä v
  • Greek: κρατώPronunciation for κρατώ v
  • Italian: tenerePronunciation for tenere v
  • Japanese: 手に持つPronunciation for 手に持つ v
  • Korean: ...을 잡고 있다Pronunciation for ...을 잡고 있다 vt
  • Norwegian: holdePronunciation for holde v
  • Polish: trzymaćPronunciation for trzymać vt
  • Brazilian Portuguese: segurarPronunciation for segurar vt
  • European Spanish: sujetar Pronunciation for sujetar v
  • Swedish: hållaPronunciation for hålla vt
  • Thai: ถือPronunciation for ถือ vt
  • Turkish: tutmakPronunciation for tutmak vt
  • Vietnamese: cầmPronunciation for cầm v
  • British English: hold If something holds an amount of something, then that is how much it has room for inside.The theatre holds 400 people.həʊld VERB The theatre holds 400 people.
  • French: contenir vt
  • Arabic: يَتَسِّعُ لِ v
  • Brazilian Portuguese: tem capacidade para no_posp

Usage examples

  • Progress was steady but a wise strategist knew when to press, when to hold back.
    Anthony Masters, CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2001)
  • He is still well over to the east and is managing to hold on to 12th position.
    Yachting Boating World (2004)
  • For starters, I hold strong views on what has been called "the vision thing".
    Irish Times (2002)
  • However, Hillfoots hold a points difference which is some 115 points better.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • Whenever Ruth is at home he feels continually irritated by her lack of purpose and idleness, and has to hold himself in check.
    Dorothy Rowe, BEYOND FEAR (2002)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'H'

Related Terms

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