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Antonyms for hold

Grammar : Noun, verb
Spell : hohld
Phonetic Transcription : hoʊld


Definition of hold

Origin :
  • Old English haldan (Anglian), healdan (West Saxon), "to contain, grasp; retain; foster, cherish," class VII strong verb (past tense heold, past participle healden), from Proto-Germanic *haldanan (cf. Old Saxon haldan, Old Frisian halda, Old Norse halda, Dutch houden, German halten "to hold," Gothic haldan "to tend"), originally "to keep, tend, watch over" (as cattle), later "to have." Ancestral sense is preserved in behold. The original past participle holden was replaced by held beginning 16c., but survives in some legal jargon and in beholden.
  • Hold back is 1530s, transitive; 1570s, intransitive; hold off is early 15c., transitive; c.1600, intransitive; hold out is 1520s as "to stretch forth," 1580s as "to resist pressure." Hold on is early 13c. as "to maintain one’s course," 1830 as "to keep one’s grip on something," 1846 as an order to wait or stop. To hold (one's) tongue "be silent" is from c.1300. To hold (one's) own is from early 14c. To hold (someone's) hand "give moral support" is from 1935. Phrase hold your horses "be patient" is from 1844. To have and to hold have been paired alliteratively since at least c.1200, originally of marriage but also of real estate.
  • noun grasp, possession
  • verb have in one's hands, possession; grasp
  • verb believe
  • verb continue, endure
  • verb support
  • verb have a capacity for
  • verb conduct meeting, function
Example sentences :
  • If you can't skin yourself you can hold a leg while somebody else skins.
  • Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson
  • You know what you hold, and if 'tain't a hand to lay down, it must be a hand to raise on.
  • Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson
  • When the Kings were weak the nobles often managed to get hold of the State.
  • Extract from : « Ancient Man » by Hendrik Willem van Loon
  • They were good fighters and for a long time they were able to hold their own against all invaders.
  • Extract from : « Ancient Man » by Hendrik Willem van Loon
  • I have known Harriet for many years, and I hold her in my high esteem.
  • Extract from : « Harriet, The Moses of Her People » by Sarah H. Bradford
  • The vessel might hold together till morning, but who could tell?
  • Extract from : « Malbone » by Thomas Wentworth Higginson
  • There's a report to-day that —— cannot hold out much longer.
  • Extract from : « Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327 » by Various
  • Hold thyself in readiness to come down upon the first summons.
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson
  • It was a very old man who held, or tried to hold, Andrew from falling to the floor.
  • Extract from : « Way of the Lawless » by Max Brand
  • When you see them, you will observe how he endeavours to hold me to this correspondence.
  • Extract from : « Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) » by Samuel Richardson

Synonyms for hold

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019