Domain: Universal Wordsverb, noun
verb (held, held )
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. * [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. * Interest rates have been held at 8% for a year now.
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? * Mrs Thatcher held the post of Prime Minister longer than anyone else last century.
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:
[Vthat] I still hold that the government's economic policies are mistaken. * [VN-ADJ] Parents will be held responsible for their children's behaviour. * [VNtoinf] These vases are held to be the finest examples of Greek art.
HELPNOTE This pattern is usually used in the passive.
meeting
18 [VN] [usuallypassive] to organize and 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. * The country is holding its first free elections for 20 years.
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) * (AmE, 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 to be true:
The same argument does not hold good in every case.
hold it (spoken) used to ask sb to wait, or not to move:
Hold it a second-I don't think everyone's arrived yet.
there is no holding sb a person cannot be prevented from doing sth:
Once she gets onto the subject of politics there's no holding her.
PHRASALVERBS
hold sth against sb to allow sth that sb has done to make you have a lower opinion of them:
I admit I made a mistake-but don't hold it against me.
hold sb/sth<->back
1 to prevent sb/sth from moving forward or crossing sth:
The police were unable to hold back the crowd. * The dam was not strong enough to hold back the flood waters.
2 to prevent the progress or development of sb/sth:
Do you think that mixed ability classes hold back the better students? * We are determined that nothing should hold back the peace talks.
hold sth<->back
1 to not tell sb sth they want or need to know:
to hold back information * I think he's holding something back. I'm sure he knows more than he admits.
2 to stop yourself from expressing how you really feel:
She just managed to hold back her anger. * He bravely held back his tears.
hold back (from doing sth)
