Definitions for: Hold


[n] the act of grasping; "he released his clasp on my arm"; "he has a strong grip for an old man"; "she kept a firm hold on the railing"
[n] the space in a ship or aircraft for storing cargo
[n] the appendage to an object that is designed to be held in order to use or move it; "he grabbed the hammer by the handle"; "it was an old briefcase but it still had
[n] a cell in a jail or prison
[n] (archaic) a stronghold
[n] power by which something or someone is affected or dominated; "he has a hold over them"
[n] understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something; "he has a good grasp of accounting practices"
[n] a state of being confined (usually for a short time); "his detention was politically motivated"; "the prisoner is on hold"; "he is in the custody of police"
[n] time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the action"
[v] keep from exhaling or expelling; "hold your breath"
[v] remain committed to; "I hold to these ideas"
[v] assert or affirm; "Rousseau's philosophy holds that people are inherently good"
[v] keep in mind or convey as a conviction or view; "take for granted"; "view as important"; "hold these truths to be self-evident"; "I hold him personally responsible"
[v] hold the attention of; "The soprano held the audience"; "This story held our interest"; "She can hold an audience spellbound"
[v] be in accord; be in agreement; "We agreed on the terms of the settlement"; "I can't agree with you!"; "I hold with those you say life is sacred"; "Both philosophers concord on this point"
[v] declare to be; "She was declared incompetent"; "judge held that the defendant was innocent"
[v] bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted; "He's held by a contract"; "I'll hold you by your promise"
[v] protect against a challenge or attack; "Hold that position behind the trees!"; "Hold the bridge against the enemy's attacks"
[v] aim, point, or direct; "Hold the fire extinguisher directly on the flames"
[v] drink alcohol without showing ill effects; "He can hold his liquor"; "he had drunk more than he could carry"
[v] have or hold in one's hands or grip; "Hold this bowl for a moment, please"; "A crazy idea took hold of him"
[v] be the physical support of; carry the weight of; "The beam holds up the roof"; "He supported me with one hand while I balanced on the beam"; "What's holding that mirror?"
[v] stop dealing with; "hold all calls to the President's office while he is in a meeting"
[v] to close within bounds, limit or hold back from movement; "This holds the local until the express passengers change trains"; "About a dozen animals were held inside the stockade"; "The illegal immigrants were held at a detention center"; "The terrorists held the journalists for ransom"
[v] cover as for protection against noise or smell; "She held her ears when the jackhammer started to operate"; "hold one's nose"
[v] support or hold in a certain manner; "She holds her head high"; "He carried himself upright"
[v] organize or be responsible for; "hold a reception"; "have, throw, or make a party"; "give a course", etc.
[v] maintain; as of a theory, thoughts, or feelings; "bear a grudge"; "hold a grudge"
[v] cause to stop; "Halt the engines"; "Arrest the progress"; "halt the presses"
[v] have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense; "She has $1,000 in the bank"; "He has got two beautiful daughters"; "She holds a Master's degree from Harvard"
[v] secure and keep for possible future use or application; "The landlord retained the security deposit"; "I reserve the right to disagree"
[v] hold on to
[v] have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices; "She bears the title of Duchess"; "He held the governorship for almost a decade"
[v] take and maintain control over, often by violent means; "The dissatisfied students held the President's office for almost a week"
[v] keep from departing; "Hold the taxi"; "Hold the horse"
[v] arrange for and reserve (something for someone else) in advance; "reserve me a seat on a flight"; "The agent booked tickets to the show for the whole family"; "please hold a table at Maxim's"
[v] lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits; "moderate your alcohol intake"; "hold your tongue"; "hold your temper"; "control your anger"
[v] be valid, applicable, or true; "This theory still holds"
[v] be pertinent or relevant or applicable; "The same laws apply to you!"; "This theory holds for all irrational numbers"; "The same rules go for everyone"
[v] keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"; "hold in place"; "She always held herself as a lady"; "The students keep me on my toes"
[v] remain in a certain state, position, or condition; "The weather held"; "They held on the road and kept marching"
[v] contain or hold; have within; "The jar carries wine"; "The canteen holds fresh water"; "This can contains water"
[v] be capable of holding or containing; "This box won't take all the items"; "The flask holds one gallon"
[v] resist or confront with resistance; "The politician defied public opinion"; "The new material withstands even the greatest wear and tear"; "The bridge held"
[v] have room for; hold without crowding; "This hotel can accommodate 250 guests"; "The theater admits 300 people"; "The auditorium can't hold more than 500 people"
[v] have as a major characteristic; "The novel holds many surprises"; "The book holds in store much valuable advise"



Webster (1913) Definition: Hold, n. [D. hol hole, hollow. See Hole.] (Naut.)
The whole interior portion of a vessel below the lower deck,
in which the cargo is stowed.


Hold, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Held; p. pr. & vb. n.
Holding. Holden, p. p., is obs. in elegant writing,
though still used in legal language.] [OE. haldan, D. houden,
OHG. hoten, Icel. halda, Dan. holde, Sw. h[*a]lla, Goth.
haldan to feed, tend (the cattle); of unknown origin. Gf.
Avast, Halt, Hod.]
1. To cause to remain in a given situation, position, or
relation, within certain limits, or the like; to prevent
from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep
in the grasp; to retain.

The loops held one curtain to another. --Ex. xxxvi.
12.

Thy right hand shall hold me. --Ps. cxxxix.
10.

They all hold swords, being expert in war. --Cant.
iii. 8.

In vain he seeks, that having can not hold.
--Spenser.

France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, . .
. A fasting tiger safer by the tooth, Than keep in
peace that hand which thou dost hold. --Shak.

2. To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or
authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to
defend.

We mean to hold what anciently we claim Of deity or
empire. --Milton.

3. To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to
derive title to; as, to hold office.

This noble merchant held a noble house. --Chaucer.

Of him to hold his seigniory for a yearly tribute.
--Knolles.

And now the strand, and now the plain, they held.
--Dryden.

4. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to
bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.

We can not hold mortality's strong hand. --Shak.

Death! what do'st? O,hold thy blow. --Grashaw.

He hat not sufficient judgment and self-command to
hold his tongue. --Macaulay.

5. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute,
as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to
sustain.

Hold not thy peace, and be not still. --Ps. lxxxiii.
1.

Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, Shall
hold their course. --Milton.

6. To prosecute, have, take, or join in, as something which
is the result of united action; as to, hold a meeting, a
festival, a session, etc.; hence, to direct and bring
about officially; to conduct or preside at; as, the
general held a council of war; a judge holds a court; a
clergyman holds a service.

I would hold more talk with thee. --Shak.

7. To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, this
pail holds milk; hence, to be able to receive and retain;
to have capacity or containing power for.

Broken cisterns that can hold no water. --Jer. ii.
13.

One sees more devils than vast hell can hold.
--Shak.

8. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or
privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to
sustain.

Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have
been taught. --2 Thes.
ii.15.

But still he held his purpose to depart. --Dryden.

9. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think;
to judge.

I hold him but a fool. --Shak.

I shall never hold that man my friend. --Shak.

The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his
name in vain. --Ex. xx. 7.

10. To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he
holds his head high.

Let him hold his fingers thus. --Shak.

To hold a wager, to lay or hazard a wager. --Swift.

To hold forth, to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put
forward. ``The propositions which books hold forth and
pretend to teach.'' --Locke.

To held in, to restrain; to curd.

To hold in hand, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to
have in one's power. [Obs.]

O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods, And
hold a lady in hand. --Beaw. & Fl.

To hold in play, to keep under control; to dally with.
--Macaulay.

To hold off, to keep at a distance.

To hold on, to hold in being, continuance or position; as,
to hold a rider on.

To hold one's day, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.]
--Chaucer.

To hold one's own.


(a) To keep good one's present condition absolutely or
relatively; not to fall off, or to lose ground; as, a
ship holds her own when she does not lose ground in a
race or chase; a man holds his own when he does not
lose strength or weight.

To hold one's peace, to keep silence.

To hold out.
(a) To extend; to offer. ``Fortune holds out these to you
as rewards.'' --B. Jonson.
(b) To continue to do or to suffer; to endure. ``He can
not long hold out these pangs.'' --Shak.

To hold up.
(a) To raise; to lift; as, hold up your head.
(b) To support; to sustain. ``He holds himself up in
virtue.''--Sir P. Sidney.
(c) To exhibit; to display; as, he was held up as an
example.
(d) To rein in; to check; to halt; as, hold up your
horses.

To hold water.
(a) Literally, to retain water without leaking; hence
(Fig.), to be whole, sound, consistent, without gaps
or holes; -- commonly used in a negative sense; as,
his statements will not hold water. [Collog.]
(b) (Naut.) To hold the oars steady in the water, thus
checking the headway of a boat.


Hold, n. i.
In general, to keep one's self in a given position or
condition; to remain fixed. Hence:

1. Not to more; to halt; to stop;-mostly in the imperative.

And damned be him that first cries, ``Hold,
enough!'' --Shak.

2. Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to
remain unbroken or unsubdued.

Our force by land hath nobly held. --Shak.

3. Not to fail or be found wanting; to continue; to last; to
endure a test or trial; to abide; to persist.

While our obedience holds. --Milton.

The rule holds in land as all other commodities.
--Locke.

4. Not to fall away, desert, or prove recreant; to remain
attached; to cleave;-often with with, to, or for.

He will hold to the one and despise the other.
--Matt. vi. 24

5. To restrain one's self; to refrain.

His dauntless heart would fain have held From
weeping, but his eyes rebelled. --Dryden.

6. To derive right or title; -- generally with of.

My crown is absolute, and holds of none. --Dryden.

His imagination holds immediately from nature.
--Hazlitt.

Hold on! Hold up! wait; stop; forbear. [Collog] -- {To
hold forth}, to speak in public; to harangue; to preach.
--L'Estrange.

To hold in, to restrain one's self; as, he wanted to laugh
and could hardly hold in.

To hold off, to keep at a distance.

To hold on, to keep fast hold; to continue; to go on. ``The
trade held on for many years,'' --Swift.

To hold out, to last; to endure; to continue; to maintain
one's self; not to yield or give way.

To hold over, to remain in office, possession, etc., beyond
a certain date.

To hold to or with, to take sides with, as a person or
opinion.

To hold together, to be joined; not to separate; to remain
in union. --Dryden. --Locke.

To hold up.
(a) To support one's self; to remain unbent or unbroken;
as, to hold up under misfortunes.
(b) To cease raining; to cease to stop; as, it holds up.
--Hudibras.
(c) To keep up; not to fall behind; not to lose ground.
--Collier.


Hold, n.
1. The act of holding, as in or with the hands or arms; the
manner of holding, whether firm or loose; seizure; grasp;
clasp; gripe; possession; -- often used with the verbs
take and lay.

Ne have I not twelve pence within mine hold.
--Chaucer.

Thou should'st lay hold upon him. --B. Jonson.

My soul took hold on thee. --Addison.

Take fast hold of instruction. --Pror. iv.
13.

2. The authority or ground to take or keep; claim.

The law hath yet another hold on you. --Shak.

3. Binding power and influence.

Fear . . . by which God and his laws take the surest
hold of. --Tillotson.

4. Something that may be grasped; means of support.

If a man be upon an high place without rails or good
hold, he is ready to fall. --Bacon.

5. A place of confinement; a prison; confinement; custody;
guard.

They . . . put them in hold unto the next day.
--Acts. iv. 3.

King Richard, he is in the mighty hold Of
Bolingbroke. --Shak.

6. A place of security; a fortified place; a fort; a castle;
-- often called a stronghold. --Chaucer.

New comers in an ancient hold --Tennyson.

7. (Mus.) A character [thus ?] placed over or under a note or
rest, and indicating that it is to be prolonged; -- called
also pause, and corona.


Hold, v. t.

To hold up. To stop in order to rob, often with the demand
to hold up the hands. [Colloq.] Hole Hole, n. (Games)
(a) A small cavity used in some games, usually one into which
a marble or ball is to be played or driven; hence, a
score made by playing a marble or ball into such a hole,
as in golf.
(b) (Fives) At Eton College, England, that part of the floor
of the court between the step and the pepperbox.

Synonyms: adjudge, agree, apply, appreciation, arrest, bear, bear, bind, book, cargo area, cargo deck, cargo hold, carry, carry, check, clasp, clench, clutch, clutches, concord, concur, confine, contain, curb, custody, declare, defend, defy, delay, detention, entertain, give, go for, grasp, grasp, grip, grip, guard, halt, handgrip, handle, harbor, harbour, have, have, have got, hold back, hold in, hold up, keep, keep, keep back, maintain, make, moderate, nurse, obligate, oblige, obtain, postponement, prevail, reserve, restrain, retain, storage area, support, sustain, take hold, throw, time lag, wait

Antonyms: differ, disagree, dissent, let go, let go of, release, relinquish, take issue

See Also: abnegate, acknowledge, admit, affirm, aim, appendage, apprehension, arrange, arrest, article, aspergill, assert, aver, avoid, avow, ax handle, axe handle, baggage, balance, baseball bat, bastardise, bastardize, bat, bate, be, bear, bear on, beatify, becharm, beguile, believe, bespeak, bewitch, bind, block, booze, bound, brace, bracket, brave, brave out, break, briefcase, broom handle, broomstick, brush, buoy, buoy up, call, call for, cancel, canonise, canonize, captivate, capture, carpet beater, carry, carry, carry on, carrycot, cart, catch, catch, cell, certify, charm, check, cheese cutter, chock, circle, cling to, clutch, coffee cup, coffeepot, come to, command, concede, conceive, concern, conciliate, conclude, confine, confine, confinement, conquer, conserve, consider, contain, continue, control, control, counteract, countercheck, cover, cradle, cricify, cricket bat, crop, cutlery, damp, defer, delay, deny, detain, direct, direct, disable, discernment, disenable, distance, drink, eating utensil, edge tool, embrace, embracing, enamor, enamour, enchain, enchant, encircle, enclose, enclosure, endure, entrance, environ, exclude, exert, exist, experience, extension, fascinate, fastness, faucet, feel, fetter, fix up, fold, formalise, formalize, French telephone, frying pan, frypan, fuddle, go, go along, go on, go-cart, grant, grasp, grasping, grip, ground, gunstock, haft, hand tool, handbarrow, handcart, handlebar, handset, helve, hilt, hoe handle, hold, hold back, hold back, hold close, hold down, hold in, hold on, hold on, hold open, hold out, hold over, hold tight, hold up, house, housekeep, impound, incapacitate, include, indent, indenture, inhibit, interlace, interlock, intermission, interruption, isolate, jail cell, judge, keep, keep, keep apart, keep back, keep down, keep in, keep off, keep open, keep out, keep up, knob, label, ladle, last, limit, live, live on, lock, luggage, lumber, maintain, make up, monopolise, monopolize, mop handle, moratorium, mortify, mug, number, panhandle, patch up, pause, pen up, pertain, piggyback, pinion, pledge, poise, pole, pommel, postpone, pound, pound up, prehension, preserve, pressurise, pressurize, prevent, prison cell, proceed, procure, prolong, pronounce, prop, prop up, prorogue, protect, pushcart, put off, put over, quest, racket, racquet, rake handle, reckon, reconcile, refer, regard, relate, relate, remit, request, resist, resolve, restrain, restrict, retain, retardation, ring, round, rug beater, saddlebow, saint, saucepan, save, savvy, scaffold, seat, secure, see, see eye to eye, seizing, sense, sequester, sequestrate, set apart, set back, settle, shackle, shank, shelve, ship, shore, shore up, shut, shut out, skillet, sleep, spatula, stamp down, stand firm, stay off, stem, stock, stock, stockpile, stoop, stop, stop, strike down, stronghold, subdue, subscribe, superannuate, support, suppress, surround, survive, suspension, sustain, sustain, swan, swear, table, take, take aim, taking hold, teacup, thermostat, think, throttle, tie down, tie down, tie up, touch, touch on, train, train, trammel, trance, trap, truss, turn back, umbrella, underpin, understanding, uphold, verify, view, watering can, watering pot, weather, wield, withstand, wrestling hold, yield

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