hold

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To grasp or grip.

   • Hold the pencil like this.
   • The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.
2. 2

   To contain or store.

   • This package holds six bottles.
3. 3

   To maintain or keep to a position or state.

   • Hold my coat for me.
   • The general ordered the colonel to hold his position at all costs.
4. ›+ 28 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To maintain or keep to particular opinions, promises, actions.

      • She holds that passive index funds beat actively managed ones: she says that "set it and forget it," when done right, beats playing the market as a gambler.
      • He neuer hild but gracious thoughts of vvomen, yeat, I vvinne, / The fayreſt She he euer ſavv might quit his thoughts of ſinne.
      • We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
   2. 5

      To win one's own service game.

   3. 6

      To take place, to occur.

      • He came into the hall where the wedding-festival had held […].
   4. 7

      To organise an event or meeting (usually in passive voice).

      • Elections will be held on the first Sunday of next month.
   5. 8

      To derive right or title.

      • My Crovvn is abſolute, and holds of none.
      • His imagination holds immediately from nature.
   6. 9

      In a food or drink order at an informal restaurant etc., requesting that a component…

      In a food or drink order at an informal restaurant etc., requesting that a component normally included in that order be omitted.

      • One ham-and-cheese sandwich; hold the mustard.
      • A martini, please, and hold the olive.
   7. 10

      To be in possession of illicit drugs for sale.

      • […] first thing clients would say to me would be 'Are you holding?' I'd say yes if we had our supply and no if it was dangerous.
   8. 11

      A grasp or grip.

      • Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's rail, close to the stern.
      • Keep a firm hold on the handlebars.
   9. 12

      An act or instance of holding.

      • Can I have a hold of the baby?
   10. 13

       A place where animals are held for safety

   11. 14

       An order that something is to be reserved or delayed, limiting or preventing how it can…

       An order that something is to be reserved or delayed, limiting or preventing how it can be dealt with.

       • Senator X placed a hold on the bill, then went to the library and placed a hold on a book.
       • Because there were no “launch commit criteria” regarding surface booster temperatures that might cause a hold on the launch, the ice team did not report the temperatures to the launch controllers.
   12. 15

       Something reserved or kept.

       • We have a hold here for you.
   13. 16

       Power over someone or something.

       • The Judge accepts the payment, the law no longer has a hold on you, and therefore you are free to walk out of the court a free man or woman.
       • War has a hold on our cultural imaginations as an inevitable force, it is peace that has no benefactor.
   14. 17

       The ability to persist.

       • This year I slept and woke with pain, ⁠I almost wish’d no more to wake, ⁠And that my hold on life would break Before I heard those bells again: […]
       • Despite their seemingly strong hold on life, as indicated by the persistence of movement in decapitation tests, rattlers are relatively frail creatures and are easily killed.
   15. 18

       The property of maintaining the shape of styled hair.

       • Sculpturing gels provide stiffer hold than styling gels, which provide better hold than mousses.
   16. 19

       A position or grip used to control the opponent.

       • He got him in a tight hold and pinned him to the mat.
   17. 20

       An exercise involving holding a position for a set time

   18. 21

       The percentage the house wins on a gamble, the house or bookmaker's hold.

       • The House Hold on the game is 10,000, this is the amount of decision or risk the house wishes to assume.
   19. 22

       The wager amount, the total hold.

       • As of Monday night the total Melbourne Cup hold was $848,015
   20. 23

       An instance of holding one's service game, as opposed to being broken.

   21. 24

       The part of an object one is intended to grasp, or anything one can use for grasping with…

       The part of an object one is intended to grasp, or anything one can use for grasping with hands or feet.

       • The beginner will instinctively try to stick his toe straight in in a foot hold, which is very tiring on the calf muscles.
   22. 25

       A fruit machine feature allowing one or more of the reels to remain fixed while the…

       A fruit machine feature allowing one or more of the reels to remain fixed while the others spin.

   23. 26

       A pause facility.

       • A hold facility is available; H holds, and S restarts.
   24. 27

       The queueing system on telephones and similar communication systems which maintains a…

       The queueing system on telephones and similar communication systems which maintains a connection when all lines are busy.

       • Given that there is an average on-hold time of more than five minutes while enquiries are being dealt with, the telephone hold system provided the best opportunity.
       • Even the "on-hold" messages on Southwest's telephone system are humorous, ensuring anyone inconvenienced by the hold is entertained.
       • Note. After the device downloads its new configuration file, we can test placing a call on hold and the generic hold music will be heard.
   25. 28

       A statistic awarded to a relief pitcher who is not still pitching at the end of the game…

       A statistic awarded to a relief pitcher who is not still pitching at the end of the game and who records at least one out and maintains a lead for his team.

   26. 29

       A region of airspace reserved for aircraft being kept in a holding pattern.

   27. 30

       The cargo area of a ship or aircraft (often holds or cargo hold).

       • We watched our luggage being loaded into the hold of the plane.
   28. 31

       Gracious

       Gracious; friendly; faithful; true.

       • at the proper moment, I stepped forward with a gay heart and a hold one

The neighborhood

• antonymrelease
• neighborbehold