hold
/həʊld/ verb, noun, adjective
Forms holds holding held holden
- verb (transitive) To grasp or grip. “Hold the pencil like this.”
- verb (transitive) To contain or store. “This package holds six bottles.”
- verb (transitive) To have and keep possession of something. “Hold my coat for me.”
- verb (transitive) To reserve. “Hold a table for us at 7:00.”
- verb (transitive) To cause to wait or delay. “Hold the elevator.”
- verb (transitive) To halt or delay (medication) temporarily.
- verb (transitive) To detain. “Hold the suspect in this cell.”
- verb (intransitive, copulative) To be or remain valid; to apply (usually in the third person). “to hold true”
- noun A grasp or grip. “Keep a firm hold on the handlebars.”
- noun An act or instance of holding. “Can I have a hold of the baby?”
- noun A place where animals are held for safety
- noun 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.”
- noun Something reserved or kept. “We have a hold here for you.”
- noun Power over someone or something. “The fad has gained a sure hold on every teenager.”
- noun The ability to persist.
- noun The property of maintaining the shape of styled hair.
- noun (nautical, aviation) 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.”
- adjective (obsolete) Gracious; friendly; faithful; true.
Synonyms
clasp grasp grip beclasp begrasp begrip belock clench clinch cling clutch enclasp fang fondle glaum grab grabble hang on hold on hold tight clutches appreciation delay time lag postponement wait detention detainment custody keep
Antonyms
Etymology
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.
Compare Latin celer (“quick”), Tocharian B käl- (“to goad, drive”), Ancient Greek κέλλω (kéllō, “to drive”), Sanskrit कलयति (kalayati, “to impel”).
Alteration (due to hold) of hole. Cognate with Dutch hol (“hole, cave, den, cavity, cargo hold”), Dutch holte (“cavity, hollow, den”).
From Middle English hold, holde, from Old English hold (“gracious, friendly, kind”), from Proto-West Germanic *holþ, from Proto-Germanic *hulþaz (“favourable, gracious, loyal”), from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to tend, incline, bend, tip”).
Cognate with German hold (“gracious, friendly, sympathetic, grateful”), Danish and Swedish huld (“fair, kindly, gracious”), Icelandic hollur (“faithful, dedicated, loyal”), German Huld (“grace, favour”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The whole interior portion of a vessel below the lower deck, in which the cargo is stowed.
- verb 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.
- verb To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend.
- noun In general, to keep one's self in a given position or condition; to remain fixed. Hence:
Etymology [D. hol hole, hollow. See Hole.]
Etymology [OE. haldan, D. houden, OHG. hoten, Icel. halda, Dan. holde, Sw. hålla, Goth. haldan to feed, tend (the cattle); of unknown origin. Gf. Avast, Halt, Hod.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hold”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details