'Hold' definitions:

Definition of 'hold'

From: WordNet
noun
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" [syn: clasp, clench, clutch, clutches, grasp, grip, hold]
noun
Understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something; "he has a good grasp of accounting practices" [syn: appreciation, grasp, hold]
noun
Power by which something or someone is affected or dominated; "he has a hold over them"
noun
Time during which some action is awaited; "instant replay caused too long a delay"; "he ordered a hold in the action" [syn: delay, hold, time lag, postponement, wait]
noun
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" [syn: detention, detainment, hold, custody]
noun
A stronghold
noun
A cell in a jail or prison [syn: hold, keep]
noun
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 a good grip" [syn: handle, grip, handgrip, hold]
noun
The space in a ship or aircraft for storing cargo [syn: cargo area, cargo deck, cargo hold, hold, storage area]
verb
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" [syn: keep, maintain, hold]
verb
Have or hold in one's hands or grip; "Hold this bowl for a moment, please"; "A crazy idea took hold of him" [syn: hold, take hold] [ant: let go, let go of, release, relinquish]
verb
Organize or be responsible for; "hold a reception"; "have, throw, or make a party"; "give a course" [syn: hold, throw, have, make, give]
verb
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" [syn: have, have got, hold]
verb
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" [syn: deem, hold, view as, take for]
verb
Maintain (a theory, thoughts, or feelings); "bear a grudge"; "entertain interesting notions"; "harbor a resentment" [syn: harbor, harbour, hold, entertain, nurse]
verb
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" [syn: restrain, confine, hold]
verb
Secure and keep for possible future use or application; "The landlord retained the security deposit"; "I reserve the right to disagree" [syn: retain, hold, keep back, hold back]
verb
Have rightfully; of rights, titles, and offices; "She bears the title of Duchess"; "He held the governorship for almost a decade" [syn: bear, hold]
verb
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?" [syn: hold, support, sustain, hold up]
verb
Contain or hold; have within; "The jar carries wine"; "The canteen holds fresh water"; "This can contains water" [syn: hold, bear, carry, contain]
verb
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" [syn: accommodate, hold, admit]
verb
Remain in a certain state, position, or condition; "The weather held"; "They held on the road and kept marching"
verb
Support or hold in a certain manner; "She holds her head high"; "He carried himself upright" [syn: hold, carry, bear]
verb
Be valid, applicable, or true; "This theory still holds" [syn: prevail, hold, obtain]
verb
Assert or affirm; "Rousseau's philosophy holds that people are inherently good"
verb
Have as a major characteristic; "The novel holds many surprises"; "The book holds in store much valuable advise"
verb
Be capable of holding or containing; "This box won't take all the items"; "The flask holds one gallon" [syn: contain, take, hold]
verb
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" [syn: reserve, hold, book]
verb
Protect against a challenge or attack; "Hold that position behind the trees!"; "Hold the bridge against the enemy's attacks" [syn: defend, guard, hold]
verb
Bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted; "He's held by a contract"; "I'll hold you by your promise" [syn: oblige, bind, hold, obligate]
verb
Hold the attention of; "The soprano held the audience"; "This story held our interest"; "She can hold an audience spellbound"
verb
Remain committed to; "I hold to these ideas"
verb
Resist or confront with resistance; "The politician defied public opinion"; "The new material withstands even the greatest wear and tear"; "The bridge held" [syn: defy, withstand, hold, hold up]
verb
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" [syn: apply, hold, go for]
verb
Stop dealing with; "hold all calls to the President's office while he is in a meeting"
verb
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" [syn: control, hold in, hold, contain, check, curb, moderate]
verb
Keep from departing; "Hold the taxi"; "Hold the horse"
verb
Take and maintain control over, often by violent means; "The dissatisfied students held the President's office for almost a week"
verb
Cause to stop; "Halt the engines"; "Arrest the progress"; "halt the presses" [syn: halt, hold, arrest]
verb
Cover as for protection against noise or smell; "She held her ears when the jackhammer started to operate"; "hold one's nose"
verb
Drink alcohol without showing ill effects; "He can hold his liquor"; "he had drunk more than he could carry" [syn: carry, hold]
verb
Aim, point, or direct; "Hold the fire extinguisher directly on the flames"
verb
Declare to be; "She was declared incompetent"; "judge held that the defendant was innocent" [syn: declare, adjudge, hold]
verb
Be in accord; be in agreement; "We agreed on the terms of the settlement"; "I can't agree with you!"; "I hold with those who say life is sacred"; "Both philosophers concord on this point" [syn: agree, hold, concur, concord] [ant: differ, disagree, dissent, take issue]
verb
Keep from exhaling or expelling; "hold your breath"

Definition of 'Hold'

From: GCIDE
  • Hold \Hold\ (h[=o]ld), 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. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Hold'

From: GCIDE
  • Hold \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.] [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • The loops held one curtain to another. --Ex. xxxvi. 12. [1913 Webster]
  • Thy right hand shall hold me. --Ps. cxxxix. 10. [1913 Webster]
  • They all hold swords, being expert in war. --Cant. iii. 8. [1913 Webster]
  • In vain he seeks, that having can not hold. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend. [1913 Webster]
  • We mean to hold what anciently we claim Of deity or empire. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to derive title to; as, to hold office. [1913 Webster]
  • This noble merchant held a noble house. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • Of him to hold his seigniory for a yearly tribute. --Knolles. [1913 Webster]
  • And now the strand, and now the plain, they held. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain. [1913 Webster]
  • We can not hold mortality's strong hand. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Death! what do'st? O, hold thy blow. --Grashaw. [1913 Webster]
  • He had not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain. [1913 Webster]
  • Hold not thy peace, and be not still. --Ps. lxxxiii. 1. [1913 Webster]
  • Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, Shall hold their course. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • I would hold more talk with thee. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Broken cisterns that can hold no water. --Jer. ii. 13. [1913 Webster]
  • One sees more devils than vast hell can hold. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain. [1913 Webster]
  • Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught. --2 Thes. ii.15. [1913 Webster]
  • But still he held his purpose to depart. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge. [1913 Webster]
  • I hold him but a fool. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • I shall never hold that man my friend. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. --Ex. xx. 7. [1913 Webster]
  • 10. To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he holds his head high. [1913 Webster]
  • Let him hold his fingers thus. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • To hold a wager, to lay or hazard a wager. --Swift.
  • To hold forth, (a) v. t.to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. "The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach." --Locke. (b) v. i. To talk at length; to harangue.
  • 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.] [1913 Webster]
  • 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. 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. (e) to rob, usually at gunpoint; -- often with the demand to "hold up" the hands. (f) To delay.
  • 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. [Colloq.] (b) (Naut.) To hold the oars steady in the water, thus checking the headway of a boat. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Hold'

From: GCIDE
  • Hold \Hold\, v. i. In general, to keep one's self in a given position or condition; to remain fixed. Hence: [1913 Webster]
  • 1. Not to move; to halt; to stop; -- mostly in the imperative. [1913 Webster]
  • And damned be him that first cries, "Hold, enough!" --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued. [1913 Webster]
  • Our force by land hath nobly held. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Not to fail or be found wanting; to continue; to last; to endure a test or trial; to abide; to persist. [1913 Webster]
  • While our obedience holds. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • The rule holds in land as all other commodities. --Locke. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Not to fall away, desert, or prove recreant; to remain attached; to cleave; -- often with with, to, or for. [1913 Webster]
  • He will hold to the one and despise the other. --Matt. vi. 24 [1913 Webster]
  • 5. To restrain one's self; to refrain. [1913 Webster]
  • His dauntless heart would fain have held From weeping, but his eyes rebelled. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. To derive right or title; -- generally with of. [1913 Webster]
  • My crown is absolute, and holds of none. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • His imagination holds immediately from nature. --Hazlitt. [1913 Webster]
  • 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 To hold 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. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Hold'

From: GCIDE
  • Hold \Hold\ (h[=o]ld), 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; grip; possession; -- often used with the verbs take and lay. [1913 Webster]
  • Ne have I not twelve pence within mine hold. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • Thou should'st lay hold upon him. --B. Jonson. [1913 Webster]
  • My soul took hold on thee. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
  • Take fast hold of instruction. --Pror. iv. 13. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. The authority or ground to take or keep; claim. [1913 Webster]
  • The law hath yet another hold on you. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. Binding power and influence. [1913 Webster]
  • Fear . . . by which God and his laws take the surest hold of. --Tillotson. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Something that may be grasped; means of support. [1913 Webster]
  • If a man be upon an high place without rails or good hold, he is ready to fall. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. A place of confinement; a prison; confinement; custody; guard. [1913 Webster]
  • They . . . put them in hold unto the next day. --Acts. iv. 3. [1913 Webster]
  • King Richard, he is in the mighty hold Of Bolingbroke. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. A place of security; a fortified place; a fort; a castle; -- often called a stronghold. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
  • New comers in an ancient hold --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'hold'

From: GCIDE
  • Corona \Co*ro"na\ (k?-r?"n?), n.; pl. L. Coron[ae] (-n?), E. Coronas (-n?z). [L. corona crown. See Crown.]
  • 1. A crown or garland bestowed among the Romans as a reward for distinguished services. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (Arch.) The projecting part of a Classic cornice, the under side of which is cut with a recess or channel so as to form a drip. See Illust. of Column. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. (Anat.) The upper surface of some part, as of a tooth or the skull; a crown. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. (Zool.) The shelly skeleton of a sea urchin. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. (Astronomy) A peculiar luminous appearance, or aureola, which surrounds the sun, and which is seen only when the sun is totally eclipsed by the moon. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. (Bot.) (a) An inner appendage to a petal or a corolla, often forming a special cup, as in the daffodil and jonquil. (b) Any crownlike appendage at the top of an organ. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. (Meteorol.) (a) A circle, usually colored, seen in peculiar states of the atmosphere around and close to a luminous body, as the sun or moon. (b) A peculiar phase of the aurora borealis, formed by the concentration or convergence of luminous beams around the point in the heavens indicated by the direction of the dipping needle. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. A crown or circlet suspended from the roof or vaulting of churches, to hold tapers lighted on solemn occasions. It is sometimes formed of double or triple circlets, arranged pyramidically. Called also corona lucis. --Fairholt. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. (Mus.) A character [[pause]] called the pause or hold. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Hold'

From: Easton
  • Hold a fortress, the name given to David's lurking-places (1 Sam. 22:4, 5; 24:22).

Synonyms of 'hold'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Words containing 'Hold'