English Explanatory Dictionary

hold

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To grasp or grip.
  2. To contain or store.
  3. To maintain or keep to a position or state.
  4. To have and keep possession of something.
  5. To reserve.
  6. To cause to wait or delay.
  7. To halt or delay (medication) temporarily.
  8. To detain.
  9. To be or remain valid; to apply (usually in the third person).
  10. To keep oneself in a particular state.
  11. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.
  12. To bear, carry, or manage.
noun
  1. A grasp or grip.
  2. An act or instance of holding.
  3. A place where animals are held for safety
  4. An order that something is to be reserved or delayed, limiting or preventing how it can be dealt with.
  5. Something reserved or kept.
  6. Power over someone or something.
  7. The ability to persist.
  8. The property of maintaining the shape of styled hair.
  9. A position or grip used to control the opponent.
  10. An exercise involving holding a position for a set time
  11. The percentage the house wins on a gamble, the house or bookmaker's hold.
  12. The wager amount, the total hold.
noun
  1. The cargo area of a ship or aircraft (often holds or cargo hold).
adj
  1. Gracious; friendly; faithful; true.

Pronunciation

hōld /həʊld/ [hɒʊɫd] /hɔwld/ [hɔw(ɫ)d] /hɔld/ /hold/ [hoɫd] /hould/ [houɫd] /hæd/ /haʊɫd/ /hoʊld/ [hoəɫd] en-us-hold.ogg [hoːɫd]

Word forms

hold holds holding held holden more hold most hold

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *haldaną Proto-West Germanic *haldan Old English healdan Middle English holden English hold Derived from Middle English holden, derived from Old English healdan, derived from Proto-West Germanic *haldan, derived from Proto-Germanic *haldaną (“to tend, herd”), maybe derived from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to drive”). Doublet of halt. Cognates *West Frisian hâlde *Low German holden, holen *Dutch houden *German halten *Danish *Norwegian Bokmål holde *Norwegian Nynorsk halda. Compare Latin celer (“quick”), Tocharian B käl- (“to goad, drive”), Ancient Greek κέλλω (kéllō, “to drive”), Sanskrit कलयति (kalayati, “to impel”).

Synonyms

clasp grasp grip beclasp begrasp begrip belock clench clinch cling clutch enclasp fang fondle glaum grab grabble hang on hold on hold tight hold nab nim seize stranglehold take own have possess withhold anchor astand blin brake cease desist draw up grind to a halt halt immobilize leave off rest stall stay stint stop swike abide bear up carry on continue endure follow up hang in there hold out hold the line hold up keep a stiff upper lip keep trying keep up

Antonyms

release

Related words

behold

Derived words

behold be left holding the baby buy and hold catch hold don't hold your breath forhold grab hold holdable hold a candle hold a candle for hold accountable hold against hold a grudge hold a gun to someone's head hold a light hold-all holdall hold all of the aces hold all of the cards hold all the aces hold all the cards hold a mirror to hold a mirror up to holdase hold a torch for hold back holdback hold back on hold by the button hold cheap hold come what may hold court hold dear hold down hold-down hold down the fort holder holdfast hold fast hold fire hold firm hold for ransom hold forth hold good hold hands hold hard hold harmless hold hostage hold in hold in contempt hold in derision holding hold in hand hold it hold it down hold it in hold it together hold my beer hold my milk hold off

Translations

Albanian: përmba Armenian: պարունակել Bengali: ধরা Breton: derc'hel Bulgarian: съдържам Dutch: bevatten Esperanto: enteni Finnish: sisältää French: contenir Galician: conter Greek: περιέχω Ancient Greek: χανδάνω Hindi: समाविष्ट Hindi: बाँधना Hindi: रोकना Hungarian: tartalmaz Icelandic: rúma Irish: coinnigh Italian: contenere Japanese: 入っている Japanese: 保持する Japanese: 擁する Lithuanian: turėti Luxembourgish: faassen Māori: kumu Māori: pepa Portuguese: segurar Portuguese: aguentar Portuguese: ter Portuguese: conter Romanian: conține Russian: содержа́ть Spanish: contener Swedish: innehålla Swedish: rymma Tagalog: maglaman Tagalog: malaman Tagalog: maglulan Tagalog: malulan Telugu: పెట్టు Ukrainian: утри́мувати Vietnamese: chứa Vietnamese: đựng Volapük: kipädön Bulgarian: хващане Finnish: ote Italian: presa Luxembourgish: Grëff Malayalam: പിടി Plautdietsch: Hool Spanish: agarre Tagalog: hawak Tagalog: tangan Tagalog: kapit
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