hold

v

1. grasp, clutch, clasp, seize, keep fast, gripe; have, palm, retain, Inf. latch onto, clench, clinch; hug, embrace, Brit. Dial. clip; keep, have and hold, harbor; cherish, treasure, fondle, Archaic. bosom.

2. reserve, set aside, put aside, set by, lay aside, lay up; retain, preserve, save, put away for a rainy day.

3. bear, carry, take, shoulder; sustain, support, bolster, hold up, keep up, uphold, upbear; prop, brace, buttress, shore.

4. keep, maintain, engross, occupy, absorb, immerse, involve, engage; hold one's attention, monopolize one's attention, engage one's mind or thoughts; arrest, enthrall, spellbind, keep spellbound, fascinate.

5. detain, hold up, confine, impound, hold in custody; keep under constraint, lock up, coop up, put behind bars, imprison, incarcerate, Sl. throw in the clink.

6. engage in, carry on, join in; bring together, gather, muster; preside over, direct, administer, conduct, run, prosecute, officiate at; observe, celebrate, mark.

7. hinder, restrain, hold back, check, impede, bar; suppress, squelch, put down; curb, hold down, hold in, control; hold up, stop, retard, delay, clog, Inf. bottle up, bottleneck, slow down, tie up.

8. occupy, be in, Sl. hold down, fill, be incumbent; own, possess, have, enjoy, control, command, boast.

9. contain, accommodate, compose, comprise, bear, comprehend; have a capacity for, retain, carry, take.

10. think, believe, maintain, harbor, opine, affirm, propound; embrace, espouse, advocate, put faith in; swear by, go with, Inf. bank on, bet on, be sure of.

11. consider, regard, deem, esteem, judge, acknowledge; conjecture, gather, conceive, surmise; fancy, guess, estimate, allow; reckon, see, suppose, suspect, daresay.

12. defend, fend off, turn aside, stand seige, stave off; secure, cover, guard, protect, fortify, safeguard, garrison; resist, repel, repulse, hold off, keep at bay; stonewall, thwart, block, blockade, shut out.

13. point, aim, direct, train, level, peg, address, turn to.

14. bind, force, oblige, compel, coerce, expect of; bear upon, make incumbent upon, make responsible for, make answerable to.

15. remain, stay, persist, last, endure, obtain; continue, go on, carry on, go through; adhere to, stick to, uphold, follow; stay with, Inf. see through, follow through, keep up.

16. adhere, cling, stick, cleave, hang on, hold on; hug, embrace, hold tight, hold fast, cohere, freeze to; stick like a leech, cling like a winkle, cling like a burr, stick like wax, stick like a wet shirt.

17. be in force, remain valid, be the case, be true, prove out; hold up, hold good, square with the facts, stand up, Inf. wash, Inf. hold water, stand the test.

18. refrain, stay, forgo, spare; forbear, desist from, give up, abandon; do without, not touch, abstain, dispense with; break off, leave off, relax, loosen.

19. hold backa. keep back, retain possession of, not use.b. withhold, refuse, deny, suppress, stifle, not disclose, Inf. take the fifth.

20. hold fortha. extend, offer, hold out, proffer, tender, submit, put forth; propose, advance, broach, volunteer.b. harangue, lecture, sermonize, discourse, preach; orate, declaim, perorate, prelect; electioneer, soapbox, Inf. stump.

21. hold off defer, postpone, hold over, suspend, put off; put aside, hang up, lay over, stay over.

22. hold on keep going, continue, perpetuate, bide, abide; stay on, carry on, hold one's course, hold steady.

23. hold out last, persist, carry on, persevere, go ahead; stand firm, stick to one's guns, mean business, stand pat, hang on; fight to the end, fight to the last man, go down fighting, never say die.

24. hold upa. display, exhibit, show, flaunt, dangle before one's eyes; wave, brandish, unfurl, unroll; show off, Inf. trot out, expose, call into notice, lay open.b.U.S. Informal. rob, Sl. stick up, U.S. Sl. heist, Sl. jack up, Sl. knock over, Sl. hit, Sl. roll.

n

25. grasp, grip, gripe, clasp, clutch, clench, clinch; iron grip, tight grip, firm hold; embrace, hug, bear hug; purchase, leverage, fulcrumage; footing, foothold, toehold, stand, stance, perch, Fr. point d'appui.

26. handle, haft, helve, grip; handstaff, crop, snath; crank, shaft, bar, shank, rounce; rail, railing, bannister, crook.

27. support, mount, mounting, setting, backing, bearing, bushing.

28. influence, power, sway, force, Inf. clout, effect; charm, charisma, magnetism; mastery, dominance, dominion, control, ascendancy.

29. pause, delay, respite, reprieve, remand; postponement, deferment, prorogation, demurral.