n.
Pronunciation: ' t ō - ˌ h ō ld
Function: noun
Date: 1880
1 a : a hold or place of support for the toes (as in climbing) b (1) : a means of progressing (as in surmounting barriers) (2) : a slight footing <used his money to get a toehold , then a foothold, then a near stranglehold on the political economy ― R. W. Armstrong>
2 : an illegal wrestling hold in which the aggressor bends or twists the other wrestler's foot