/ həʊld; NAmE hoʊld/ verb , noun
■ verb
( held , held / held; NAmE /)
IN HAND / ARMS
1.
[ vn ] to carry sth; to have sb/sth in your hand, arms, etc. :
She was holding a large box.
I held the mouse by its tail.
The girl held her father's hand tightly.
He was holding the baby in his arms.
The winning captain held the trophy in the air.
We were holding hands (= holding each other's hands) .
The lovers held each other close.
2.
[ vn ] to put your hand on part of your body, usually because it hurts :
She groaned and held her head.
IN POSITION
3.
[usually + adv. / prep. ] to keep sb/sth in a particular position :
[ vn ]
Hold your head up.
Hold this position for a count of 10.
The wood is held in position by a clamp.
I had to hold my stomach in (= pull the muscles flat) to zip up my jeans.
[ vn - adj ]
I'll hold the door open for you.
SUPPORT
4.
[ vn ] to support the weight of sb/sth :
I don't think that branch will hold your weight.
CONTAIN
5.
[ vn ] to have enough space for sth/sb; to contain sth/sb :
This barrel holds 25 litres.
The plane holds about 300 passengers.
SB PRISONER
6.
to keep sb and not allow them to leave :
[ vn ]
Police are holding two men in connection with last Thursday's bank raid.
[ vn - n ]
He was held prisoner for two years.
CONTROL
7.
[ vn ] to defend sth against attack; to have control of sth :
The rebels held the radio station.
REMAIN
8.
[ v ] to remain strong and safe or in position :
They were afraid the dam wouldn't hold.
9.
[ v ] to remain the same :
How long will the fine weather hold?
If their luck holds, they could still win the championship.
KEEP
10.
[ vn ] to keep sb's attention or interest :
There wasn't much in the museum to hold my attention.
11.
[ vn ] to keep sth at the same level, rate, speed, etc. :
Hold your speed at 70.
12.
[ vn ] to keep sth so that it can be used later :
records held on computer
Our solicitor holds our wills.
We can hold your reservation for three days.
OWN
13.
[ vn ] to own or have sth :
Employees hold 30% of the shares.
JOB
14.
[ vn ] to have a particular job or position :
How long has he held office?
RECORD / TITLE
15.
[ vn ] to have sth you have gained or achieved :
Who holds the world record for the long jump?
She held the title of world champion for three years.
OPINION
16.
[ vn ] to have a belief or an opinion about sb/sth :
He holds strange views on education.
She is held in high regard by her students (= they have a high opinion of her) .
firmly-held beliefs
17.
( formal ) to consider that sth is true :
[ v that ]
I still hold that the government's economic policies are mistaken.
[ vn - adj ]
Parents will be held responsible for their children's behaviour.
[ vn to inf ]
These vases are held to be the finest examples of Greek art.
HELP NOTE : This pattern is usually used in the passive.
MEETING
18.
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] to have a meeting, competition, conversation, etc. :
The meeting will be held in the community centre.
It's impossible to hold a conversation with all this noise.
ROAD / COURSE
19.
[ vn ] if a vehicle holds the road , it is in close contact with the road and easy to control, especially when driven fast
20.
[ vn ] if a ship or an aircraft holds a course , it continues to move in a particular direction
IN MUSIC
21.
[ vn ] to make a note continue for a particular time
ON TELEPHONE
22.
to wait until you can speak to the person you have telephoned :
[ v ]
That extension is busy right now. Can you hold?
[ vn ]
She asked me to hold the line .
STOP
23.
[ vn ] used to tell sb to stop doing sth or not to do sth :
Hold your fire! (= don't shoot)
Hold the front page! (= don't print it until a particular piece of news is available)
( NAmE , informal )
Give me a hot dog, but hold the (= don't give me any) mustard.
•
IDIOMS
Most idioms containing hold are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example hold the fort is at fort .
- hold good
- hold it
- there is no holding sb
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- hold sth against sb
- hold sb/sth back
- hold sth back
- hold back (from doing sth) | hold sb back (from doing sth)
- hold sb down
- hold sth down
- hold forth
- hold sth in
- hold off
- hold sb/sth off
- hold on
- hold sth on
- hold on (to sth/sb) | hold onto sth/sb
- hold on to sth | hold onto sth
- hold out
- hold out sth
- hold sth out
- hold out for sth
- hold out on sb
- hold sth over
- hold sth over sb
- hold sb to sth
- hold together | hold sth together
- hold up
- hold sb/sth up
- hold up sth
- hold with sth
■ noun
WITH HAND
1.
[ sing. , U ] the action of holding sb/sth; the way you are holding sb/sth
SYN grip :
His hold on her arm tightened.
She tried to keep hold of the child's hand.
Make sure you've got a steady hold on the camera.
IN SPORT
2.
[ C ] a particular way of holding sb, especially in a sport such as wrestling or in a fight :
The wrestler put his opponent into a head hold.
POWER / CONTROL
3.
[ sing. ] hold (on / over sb/sth) influence, power or control over sb/sth :
What she knew about his past gave her a hold over him.
He struggled to get a hold of his anger.
—see also stranglehold
IN CLIMBING
4.
[ C ] a place where you can put your hands or feet when climbing
—see also foothold , handhold , toehold
ON SHIP / PLANE
5.
[ C ] the part of a ship or plane where the goods being carried are stored
—picture at plane
•
IDIOMS
- catch, get, grab, take, etc. (a) hold of sb/sth
- get hold of sb
- get hold of sth
- no holds barred
- on hold
- take (a) hold
—more at wrong adjective
••
SYNONYMS
hold
hold on ♦ cling ♦ clutch ♦ grip ♦ grasp ♦ clasp ♦ hang on
These words all mean to have sb/sth in your hands, arms, etc.
hold
to have sb/sth in your hand, arms, etc.:
She was holding a large box.
•
I held the baby gently in my arms.
hold on (to sb/sth)
to continue to hold sb/sth; to put your hand on sb/sth and not take your hand away:
Hold on and don't let go until I say so.
cling
to hold on to sb/sth tightly, especially with your whole body:
Survivors clung to pieces of floating debris.
clutch
to hold sb/sth tightly, especially in your hand; to take hold of sth suddenly:
She stood there, the flowers still clutched in her hand.
•
He felt himself slipping and clutched at a branch.
grip
to hold on to sth very tightly with your hand:
Grip the rope as tightly as you can.
grasp
to take hold of sth firmly:
He grasped my hand and shook it warmly.
NOTE
The object of grasp is often sb's hand or wrist .
clasp
( formal ) to hold sb/sth tightly in your hand or in your arms:
They clasped hands (= held each other's hands) .
•
She clasped the children in her arms.
NOTE
The object of clasp is often your hands , sb else's hand or another person.
hang on (to sth)
to hold on to sth very tightly, especially in order to support yourself or stop yourself from falling:
Hang on tight. We're off!
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to hold / clutch / grip / clasp sth in your hand / hands
to hold / catch / clasp sb/sth in your arms
to grip / grasp sth with your hand / hands
to hold / clutch / grip / grasp / clasp / hang on to sth
to hold / cling / hang on
to hold / clutch / clasp sb/sth to you
to hold / hold on to / cling to / clutch / grip / grasp / clasp / hang on to sb/sth tight / tightly / firmly
••
WORD ORIGIN
verb and noun senses 1 to 4 Old English haldan , healdan , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch houden and German halten ; the noun is partly from Old Norse hald hold, support, custody.
noun sense 5 late 16th cent.: from obsolete holl , from Old English hol , holian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hol (noun) cave, (adjective) hollow, and German hohl hollow, from an Indo-European root meaning cover, conceal. The addition of -d was due to association with hold (all other senses).