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to take and keep something in your hand or arms:
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Can you hold the bag while I open the door?
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He was holding a gun.
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The little girl held her mother's hand.
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He held her in his arms.
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[ + obj + adj ] Could you hold the door open, please?
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Rosie held out an apple for the horse.
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All those who agree, please hold up your hand (= raise your arm).
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Will the rope be strong enough to hold my weight?
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Each wheel is held on with four bolts.
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The parts are held together with glue.
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I have to hold my nose when I jump into water.
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They walked along holding hands.
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1
to contain or be able to contain something:
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This jug holds exactly one pint.
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One bag won't hold all of the shopping - we'd better take two.
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Computers can hold huge amounts of information.
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Who can tell what the future holds?
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She's very religious, so death holds no fear for her.
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2
to have something, especially a position or money, or to control something:
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3
to have a particular position in a competition:
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She holds the world record.
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They held the lead until the 89th minute.
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4
to keep something, especially when it might have been lost:
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I asked the shop to hold the dress for me until this afternoon.
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You have to be a fairly good speaker to hold an audience's attention/interest.
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The police are holding several people in custody (= at the police station) for questioning.
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[ + obj + noun ] The terrorists held him hostage for 18 months.
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I was held prisoner in a tiny attic room.
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5
to have something such as a meeting or an election:
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Could we hold a meeting to discuss this tomorrow afternoon?
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The election will be held on 8 August.
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I find it's almost impossible to hold a sensible conversation with her.
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6
to cause to stay or continue in the same way as before:
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Let's hope our good luck holds.
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I hope the repair holds until we get the car to a garage.
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The old adage that money talks still holds true (= is still true).
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The government is committed to holding exports at their present level.
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The ship/aircraft held its course.
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7
to believe an idea or opinion:
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You sold it to me, so if it breaks I'll hold you responsible (= consider you to blame).
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[ + to infinitive ]
formal a legal decision that we hold to be unconstitutional
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8
to wait, or to stop something temporarily:
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They've decided to hold all future deliveries until the invoice has been paid.
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How long can you hold your breath (= stop breathing)?
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Will you hold my calls for the next half hour please?
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She's on the phone at the moment - will you hold (the line) (= wait on the phone until she can speak to you)?
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9
If you ask someone to hold something, you do not want them to include it:
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I'd like a ham sandwich on rye, hold the lettuce.
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10
the act of holding something or someone, or the way you do this:
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Keep a tight hold on your tickets.
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Don't worry if you lose hold of the reins - the horse won't wander off.
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He took hold of one end of the carpet and tugged.
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I just managed to grab hold of Lucy before she fell in the pool.
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11
power or control over something or someone:
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Their company has a strong hold on/over the computer market.
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12
If you are on hold when using the phone, you are waiting to speak to someone:
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Mr Briggs is on hold.
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He's on the phone at the moment- can I put you on hold?
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Everything's on hold again because of the bad weather.
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The movie has been put on hold until the financial situation improves.
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13
the space in a ship or aircraft in which goods are carried
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14
to take and keep something in your hand or arms:
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[ T ] The nurse held the child in her arms.
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[ I ] Hold tight (= firmly) to the railing.
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15
to move something away from your body:
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[ M ] Rosie held an apple out to the horse.
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[ M ] Close your eyes and hold out your hands.
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[ M ] All those who agree, please hold your hand up.
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16
to keep something in a particular place or position:
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[ M ] Could you hold the door open for me, please?
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[ M ] I can’t fasten this skirt unless I hold my stomach in (= keep it tight with my muscles so that it does not stick out).
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[ M ] Each wheel is held on by/with four bolts.
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[ M ] Individual parts are held together with glue.
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[ I ] Hold still (= Do not move)!
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17
to continue or cause to continue in the same way as before:
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[ I ] If the weather holds, we can go sailing.
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[ T ] The ship held its course.
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[ T ] She seemed to hold the note she was singing for more than a minute.
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Einstein’s theories still hold true today.
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18
to stop something from happening, or to delay something temporarily:
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[ T ] How long can you hold your breath?
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[ I ] Her line is busy, would you like to hold?
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[ T ] I’d like a salad, but hold the dressing.
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19
to support or contain something or be able to contain or support it:
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This bottle holds exactly one pint.
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Modern computers can hold (= store) huge amounts of information.
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Will the rope be strong enough to hold the weight?
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The new drug holds promise for relieving chronic pain.
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20
to keep control or possession of something:
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His speech held the audience’s attention for over an hour.
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He was held prisoner for three days.
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After many days of fighting, the rebels now hold the town.
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The champion held the lead until the last lap.
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He currently holds the position of managing editor.
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She holds three different accounts with the same bank.
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21
to organize or cause a meeting, election, or social event to happen:
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The election will be held on the 8th of November.
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We’re holding our annual New Year’s Day party again.
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to believe an idea or opinion to be correct, or to state that something is true:
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He holds unpopular views on many subjects.
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I hold him responsible for the damage to my car.
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[ + that clause ] Murphy’s law holds that if anything can go wrong, it probably will.
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23
the act of taking and keeping something in your hand or arms, or the way you do this:
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Don’t lose hold of the dog’s leash.
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If you can get/grab/take hold of that end of the box, I’ll take this end and we’ll lift it.
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24
If something is on hold, it is intentionally delayed:
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The space launch is on hold until the weather clears.
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His line is busy – can I put you on hold?
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25
control or power over something or someone:
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The team is strengthening its hold on first place.
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She has a strong hold on her daughters.
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26
the space in a ship or aircraft where goods are carried
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(in some sports) a position in which one person prevents another from moving:
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28
to have something, especially a position or money, or to control something:
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hold power/control The CEO holds power only as long as the directors approve of his methods.
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hold a stake/an interest/shares The bank holds an interest in the real estate company.
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hold a position/job/post Before taking his present post, he held the position of chief financial regulator.
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hold a mortgage/loan She holds the mortgage, so she has the right to foreclose on the property.
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hold the rights to sth Who holds the rights to screen these games?
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hold a patent The world's largest biotech firm holds patents on the DNA sequences of thousands of varieties of grain.
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to keep something, especially when it might be needed in the future:
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Accountants recommend holding records for more than seven years.
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Ten seats are being held for the chief executives.
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hold stocks/supplies We hold large stocks of all these items, and are generally able to guarantee next-day delivery.
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30
to keep money or an investment, and not sell it:
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We'll hold the bonds until the resale market improves.
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For these stocks, the recommendation is: Hold!
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31
to contain or be able to contain a number of people or things:
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Each container can hold 500 pounds of cargo.
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The auditorium is designed to hold 1,000 people.
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32
to make an event, especially a meeting, happen:
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33
to stay, or make something stay, at the same level as before:
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hold a rate/price/tax The Federal Reserve held interest rates at 3%.
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The Chancellor is expected to hold capital gains tax at its present rate.
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The markets held steady, despite the report of higher inflation.
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34
to make a judgment in a court of law:
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35
to wait when you are phoning until you can talk to the person that you want to speak to:
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He'll answering another call right now. Can you hold?
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Please hold the line. I'll try to connect you.
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36
to be in a strong position when you are competing with someone else, because you have all the advantages:
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Management holds all the cards when it comes to the negotiations over job cuts.
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to speak in a formal situation, such as at a conference or meeting:
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Martin held the floor for almost an hour.
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to deal with a situation, or do someone's job, while they are away:
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She went off on vacation, leaving me to hold down the fort.
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Will you hold the fort while I go for lunch?
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39
to keep or defend an opinion or an idea, even when other people do not agree with you:
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We'll hold our ground until they accept our changes to the contract.
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40
to help someone to do something, especially when it is a new or difficult task:
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A call center technician held my hand as he talked me through installing the hardware.
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You shouldn't really need your boss to hold your hand any longer.
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to have a position of authority, especially in government:
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A president can only hold office for two terms of four years each.
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Things were not very different when the previous government held office.
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42
to continue to be in a strong or fairly strong position, even when there are difficulties:
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hold your own against sb/sth They held their own against heavily marketed overseas brands.
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to control when and how money is spent:
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Head office holds the purse strings, and we'll need approval to buy any new equipment.
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to be in control of something:
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to keep something until a time when it is needed for a particular purpose:
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Four million additional tons of grain are held in reserve each month.
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to have control or influence over someone or something:
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47
to have or control the rights to land, buildings, or other property:
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hold title to sth She held title to the property and all mineral rights.
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48
to not fall in price:
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49
power or control over someone or something:
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a hold over sb/sth With the new law, Congress strengthened its hold over mortgage rates.
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a hold on sth They're keeping their strong hold on the smartphone market.
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a strong/tight hold
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keep/tighten/lose your hold
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50
a suggestion that someone should not sell the shares that they own in a company, but that they should not buy any new shares:
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Analysts changed "buys" to "holds" after the annual report appeared.
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We have recently downgraded our recommendation for the Forest Group to "Hold".
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51
a delay by a bank to prevent money from being taken from an account:
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It took three days for the hold on the payment to be cleared.
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the place on a ship or aircraft where goods are carried:
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Inspectors examined the hold to look for stowaways.
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53
not being done now, but perhaps being done later:
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Any new building has been put on hold until the economy improves.
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The dollar is on hold at the same level it was at a year ago.
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Technical support had me on hold for 20 minutes while they researched my question.
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I'll just put you on hold while I ask my manager about this.
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54
to start to have an effect:
